Leadership development is crucial to every law firm’s growth and future. It takes time to invest in individuals who have the potential to move into authoritative positions, manage teams, and help ensure continuity as current leaders shift toward reduced involvement and retirement. 

What makes legal leadership a unique challenge was captured in a quote by Tony Bleasdale during his presidency of the Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA): “While most managing partners and partners are excellent lawyers, there are few that are natural leaders, great people managers or strong communicators.”¹

The practice of law as a whole tends to attract and showcase those who stand out at an individual level, but some of the skills most critical for law firm leadership are on the opposite end of the spectrum. 

Key Qualities Among Lawyers vs. Successful Legal Leaders

The first step in developing leaders is to understand the push and pull of traits that make outstanding practicing lawyers vs. outstanding leaders. After profiling thousands of lawyers with a focus on senior management, Dr. Larry Richard identified several areas where lawyers consistently scored far differently from the general public on the Caliper Assessment²:

• High ego drive, or “the desire to persuade others for the sheer sake of persuasion itself”
• High skepticism, extending to being cynical, judgmental, argumentative, and untrusting 
• High urgency, characterized by impatience that extends to dealing with other people
• Low sociability, including discomfort with new relationships and interaction
• Low resilience, or being defensive, resistant to feedback, and hypersensitive to criticism

Simply put, the makeup of a top lawyer at a law firm—a performance leader in their field—is often far different from the traits that drive effective firm leaders: adaptability, emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, ethical judgment, and resilience.

Fortunately, simply being made aware of these traits and their individual Caliper scores helped lawyers overcome some defensiveness and understand how to bridge the gap between what made them successful as legal practitioners versus leaders of people and firms. Similarly, many firm leaders had “Aha!” moments in better understanding the makeup of their teams and moving toward implementing more successful leadership development programs. 

Skills and Competencies for Legal Leaders 

Strong leadership is often conflated with drive or high performance, but those aren’t top among the characteristics of the best leaders. Ideally, firm partners each contribute a unique mix of talents that help balance each other, including legal expertise, but they should all be able to display knowledge and skills, including^1,3,4,5,6:

• Communication – Prioritizing active listening skills as highly as speaking and writing skills is critical. Leaders know how to read a room, how to elicit both negative and positive input, how to negotiate and manage conflicts, how to build relationships and networks, and how to motivate and support others through effective communication.

• Strategic thinking – Firm leaders must understand how to build a business rather than just legal arguments. This includes how to balance short- and long-term goals, relationships, and investments, analytical skills, and the ability to make decisions and solve problems.

• Business acumen – Entrepreneurship, client networking, and an understanding of regulatory landscapes are key to firm leadership. So, too, are identifying weaknesses and opportunities as well as remaining agile in the face of changing technology, talent, and economic factors.

• Team building – Building a cohesive, supportive team that works together helps channel competition as a healthy aspect of the firm rather than an impediment, and it helps secure continuity as a whole that’s not lost along with any one individual. 

• People management – From lawyer mentoring and coaching to simply recognizing the principles of motivating and supporting the human engine of a law firm, leaders need to understand the needs, opportunities, and contributions of their staff and contribute to their professional development and growth.

Future Trends in Legal Leadership

In addition to legal leadership skills as a whole, individuals groomed to step into management roles need to be well-versed in how emerging technology impacts firms. Considering that AI automation is predicted to absorb up to 44% of legal support staff tasks, understanding how to anticipate both the pros and cons of legal tech will be increasingly valuable.⁷

Foster those who show talent or interest in spotting trends and identifying opportunities that can benefit efficiency and firm profits, such as AI tools for: 

• Specific practice types, domains, and use cases
• Real-time insights and suggestions during legal proceedings⁸
• Client and prospect self-service and management 

At a higher level, leaders will need to: 

• Master hybrid and remote team management
• Ensure new legal tools and tech can provide measurable ROI 
• Find the optimal integration and balance of AI influence on decision-making
• Respond to regulations and guidance from courts and associations on AI use and ethics⁹

How to Identify Leadership Talent

Keep an eye on leadership potential as early as possible when bringing new lawyers into your firm. This means: 

• Leadership prioritization – Build critical leadership potential, including emotional intelligence, into job descriptions and search parameters during talent acquisition.

• Predictive tools – Use predictive or psychometric assessment tools, such as the Caliper Assessment, as part of the hiring process and to help identify the talents and training needs of current associates and partners. 

• Legal search experts – Work with skilled professionals or legal recruiting services to hire talent with an eye toward firm leaders. Experienced consultants can help you identify traits and skills that would enhance your current talent mix and develop a bespoke recruitment plan.

• Potential over experience – Look for curiosity, engagement, sound judgment, high ethical standards, communication skills, insight, diplomacy, collaboration, and determination as assets that compete with specific experiences.^10.11

Strategies for Developing Legal Leadership

While it's useful to look for associates who display valuable traits and interests, leaders aren’t simply born; they’re created. Successful leaders are those who’ve sought the skills they employ in multiple ways—through training, mentoring, by example, and by failing, learning from mistakes, and trying again. 

Think about how you can build leadership development into your talent acquisition and nurturing processes from the start. 

Explore Partner Management Alternatives 

Lawyers don’t all opt for the same practice type, firm size, litigation or corporate mix, or any other facet of the law—they also won’t all follow the same career trajectory and goal. Rather than relying on a traditional advancement from practitioner to managing partner, consider the following: 

• Multiple leadership tracks – Create, document, and circulate clearly articulated leadership tracks that allow associates to work towards desired roles in practice management, rainmaking, and other aspects of partnership and top positions in the firm. 

• Non-management leadership roles – Not every firm lawyer dreams of shifting into a C-suite management role. Allow for career advancement opportunities for individual high performers that don’t automatically move them into traditional senior roles but rather allow them to flourish as top-notch practitioners vital to influencing younger staff. 

• Non-lawyer leadership roles – Conversely, consider the utility of external hires who are entirely business-based rather than firm partners to fulfill key managerial and business growth functions. Non-lawyer CEOs and other non-lawyer C-suite executives are a growing trend among mid- to large-sized firms.¹

Prioritize Leadership Training

Move leadership development from a soft skill to a front-and-center priority. This can include: 

• Formal training – Like other types of professional services organizations, law firms all too often simply move those who have seniority or excel in building a client base into managing partner roles.¹ But neither of those qualifications means that an individual is prepared to take on people or practice management. Ensure that a track that moves into management roles includes actual leadership and management training, such as professional certifications.

• Embedded emotional intelligence training – While it’s common to include ratings such as team building and communication in performance reviews, it’s often an afterthought rather than a continuing focus. Instead of assigning such skills to a lower priority, encourage greater investment by building them into goal-setting, continuing education requirements, and review discussions in practical, ongoing ways. 

• Accountability – Like any other goal, leadership development needs monitoring and accountability in order to avoid being swept under the constant barrage of urgent daily tasks. Establish KPIs (key performance indicators) and build them into regular review processes and job descriptions.

Institute Ongoing Efforts

Exceptional leaders don’t rest on a single training program certificate; they grow and adapt over time. This means starting early with learning, exposure, and smaller roles, and remaining open to building skills throughout their careers. In particular, foster or incentivize:

• Mentoring – Formalize mentoring relationships, goals, and monitoring as part of early leadership development, and expose associates over time to the challenges, inner workings, and managerial tasks of firm leadership roles.

• Senior development – It’s never too late to identify deficits and enhance skills for current leaders. Consider employing assessment testing and outside coaches for one-on-one work with partners.

Secure Your Firm’s Future Leaders

Effective leaders guide firms and legal teams through challenges and shape the future of legal practices. Developing the right mix of firm leaders means building a collaborative culture within legal teams, fostering a shared vision, and establishing goals and accountability around leadership development—and it all starts with identifying and attracting top legal talent. 

The experienced, skilled legal recruitment professionals of E.P. Dine can help you secure your firm’s future. Law is a constantly shifting industry, and we partner with firms to navigate a tight talent market. 

Connect with us to find out more about how we can provide a hassle-free pathway to acquiring and developing the legal talent you need.

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Sources: 

1. Thomson Reuters. The Importance of Developing Leadership in Law Firms. https://insight.thomsonreuters.com.au/legal/posts/importance-developing-leadership-in-law-firms‍
2. LawyerBrain. Herding Cats: The Lawyer Personality Revealed. https://www.lawyerbrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/caliper_herding_cats.pdf‍
3. LinkedIn: Carl Shawn Watkins. How to Develop Effective Lawyer Leadership Skills. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-develop-effective-lawyer-leadership-skills-watkins-/‍
4. Attorney At Work. Investing in Homegrown Leaders: Here’s How to Develop Effective Lawyer Leadership Skills. https://www.attorneyatwork.com/lawyer-leadership/‍
5. Santa Clara Law Digital Commons. Leadership Skills Development Is Lawyer Skills Development. https://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1909&context=facpubs‍
6. LawCPD. 5 Ways to Boost Leadership Skills and Become a Better Lawyer. https://lawcpd.com.au/blog/boost-leadership-skills-lawyer/‍
7. Thomson Reuters. How will leveraging AI change the future of legal services? https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/how-will-leveraging-ai-change-future-legal-services-2023-08-23/‍
8. Multiplatform.ai. Artificial Intelligence Revolutionizing Deposition Preparation in Legal Practice. https://multiplatform.ai/artificial-intelligence-revolutionizing-deposition-preparation-in-legal-practice/‍
9. Law.com by ALM Global, LLC. How Agencies, Legal Teams and Corporations Are Safely Using AI for E-Discovery to Reduce Costs and Accelerate Time to Resolution. https://www.law.com/legaltechnews/2023/12/14/how-agencies-legal-teams-and-corporations-are-safely-using-ai-for-e-discovery-to-reduce-costs-and-accelerate-time-to-resolution/‍
10. Association of Corporate Counsel. 10 Steps to Unlock Your Legal Leadership Potential. https://www.acc.com/resource-library/10-steps-unlock-your-legal-leadership-potential‍
11. Minority Corporate Counsel Association. 4 Leadership Skills for Moving up the Legal Career Ladder. https://mcca.com/mcca-article/4-leadership-skills-moving-legal-career-ladder/