According to law firm leaders quoted in a story in today's San Francisco Business Times, demand will be flat this year. I'm sure that doesn't surprise anyone who hasn't been in a cave for the past six months.
On the surface, this is pretty straightforward. After all, companies and consumers alike are tightening belts in ways that haven't been seen in many years. However, we would be wise to take a closer look at what we mean by "legal service." Usually, that means "the legal services we've been buying for years." As in, "same old, same old."
In any downturn, companies take advantage of the cover provided by macro conditions to eliminate waste, whether that's unproductive employees, unneeded facilities or superfluous purchasing. Mature categories of legal service are easy targets for cost-saving, either by shifting them to lower cost firms or geographic regions (read: India), bringing them in-house, automating them, or by eliminating the underlying business function that no longer produces meaningful business impact.
It's time to review your service portfolio. How many of them are no longer particularly important to the clients they putatively serve? Here are some reliable indicators:
- Price pressure
- Diminishing levels of executive access
- Slow response to your calls or email
- Fault-finding over minor issues
Demand for unimportant services is always flat or declining.
On the other hand, as these companies try to figure out where their profitable future lies, those who can help inform and guide those decisions are always in demand. Do you demonstrate sufficient knowledge of your clients' business and industry to contribute to this critical conversation?
