California Pulse

Expert Analysis

• How Leaders Can Foster Professional Growth With Feedback

  When law firm leaders provide work product feedback by identifying errors instead of offering guiding input, they miss a key opportunity to treat feedback as a professional development and leadership tool, but several practices can help bridge the gap between intent and impact, says Janet Jackson at Well-Law.

• Why Marketing Teams Are Vital For Law Firm AI Storytelling

  Many law firms are using generic decks for multiple client presentations to articulate their artificial intelligence strategy, but in order to differentiate themselves, it's important to bring marketing teams into the fold to identify what's actually distinctive about how a firm uses AI, says Eric Greenberg at Cox Media.

• Legal Marketing Conference Highlights Pivotal Time For Firms

  The Legal Marketing Association's recent annual conference underscored how advances in artificial intelligence and shifting client expectations are causing law firms to evolve into more structured, data-driven businesses that place greater emphasis on strategy, implementation and measurable results, say Maria Aronson and Gina Rubel at Furia Rubel.

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  Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Build Relationship Habits

  Meaningful relationships are foundational to business development, and they can be deliberately fostered through a set of habits for authentically, intentionally and consistently connecting with clients and colleagues — starting with people you already know and like, says Matthew Moran at V&E.

• Legal Leaders Are Asking The Wrong Questions About AI

  Artificial intelligence is already woven into everyday work for attorneys, so beyond questioning whether AI was used and approving such tools, legal leaders need to create a shared foundation for what good AI use looks like on their team, says Alex Denniston at Factor.

• In-House Leaders Can Turn Contract Data Into Growth Insight

  A company's contracts contain final, negotiated commercial commitments that reveal important growth, revenue and strategy insights, but for organizations that aren’t making two key structural changes, the information tends to remain within the legal department — untranslated and unused, says Shimane Smith at NerdWallet.

• PE's Path In UK Legal Market Offers Playbook For US Firms

  The U.K. offers 14 years' worth of data on private equity's involvement in the legal market, demonstrating for U.S. firms what worked, what didn’t and why, and illustrating several lessons about operational readiness, cultural fit and timing, says Tom Lenfestey at The Law Practice Exchange.

• 8 Mistakes That Derail Law Firms' Sector Strategies

  When firms attempt to deliberately organize their expertise, client relationships, business development, and thought leadership around specific industry verticals – sometimes called industry sector programs – several missteps commonly arise, but with discipline and alignment any firm can successfully grab market share, say Heidi Gardner at Harvard Law School and David Harvey at Harvey Global Consulting.

• Making Legal Cents: A Strategic Plan For Lateral Partner Hires

  Firms of all sizes are accelerating lateral hiring of experienced partners because investing in senior expertise can pay off big — but for such an investment to work, firms need a disciplined strategy for vetting candidates, supporting their integration, and ensuring they'll generate real returns, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

• As AI Rewrites BigLaw Hiring, Mid-Law May Snag Edge

  Similar to the way the transfer portal changed how many NCAA men’s basketball teams are built, artificial intelligence use in the legal industry is changing BigLaw’s lateral hiring market and creating a field where midmarket firms that develop their talent will hold an edge in the legal profession's next era, says Michael Ott at Ice Miller.

• 5 Firm Structure Changes To Adequately Address Atty Burnout

  While wellness programs, flexible schedules and mental health resources are meaningful steps toward addressing burnout in the legal industry, a more effective approach must involve a redesign of law firm incentive structures, says retired attorney Jason Ward.

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  Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Be An Industry Expert

  Although taking the time to fully invest in a client and its industry is a big ask, it is well worth it for attorneys to understand the pressures, trends and constraints of a client's industry in order to build enduring business relationships, says Nonnie Shivers at Ogletree.

• Talking Mental Health: Fostering Cultures Where Women Excel

  Sylvie Rodrigue at Torys discusses why authenticity is essential to women's career growth, why burnout is not the result of a lack of resilience, how the legal industry can better support women's mental health needs, and how firms can address gender gaps in senior roles.

• How Clients Can Make The Most Of Law Firm Partner Moves

  Outside counsel’s lateral career moves can create uncertainty and disruption for companies, but if managed strategically, in-house legal teams can leverage partner mobility for more complete service, better pricing and stronger relationships with their law firms, says Theodore Edelman at GCE Advisors.

• The Augmented Lawyer: Countering 4 AI Efficiency Myths

  Perceived efficiency gains from artificial intelligence can create unsustainable workload expectations for in-house legal departments, so general counsel must proactively educate executives, reframe assumptions and tie legal judgment to business outcomes, say Karineh Khachatourian at KXT Law and Catie Cambridge at Docsum.