Billables and collections don't tell the whole story

Plus: Who should regulate AI?

Raise The Bar

05 Dec 2024 • 4 min read

How does your firm measure a "good" year? And are billable hours the first metric? Today we delve into other ways to pat yourself on the back this year. But first: Meet the first transgender lawyer to argue in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. Let's get started with Raise the Bar.

In today's newsletter:

Rethinking year-end performance metrics
Lawyers want AI regulation, just not from the government
Forget the elevator pitch; try a conversation instead
Strategy-centered marketing for long-term success

A new twist on a classic.
New “Matlock” more than a reboot of its namesake TV series.

Gifts clients actually want.
This holiday season, level up your gift baskets.

Rose-colored glasses.
Optimism as a business strategy.

Word of the year...1854?
Oxford chooses Thoreau's phrase “brain rot” to top its 2024 list.

New metrics for lawyer performance

As the end of the year nears, many lawyers are focused on fee collection and meeting billable hour requirements. But William Josten, writing for Thomson Reuters Institute, suggests that these traditional metrics should no longer be the gold standards of lawyer productivity. According to stats compiled by Thomson Reuters, the number of hours worked per lawyer has been steadily declining over the past several years. Nonetheless, as rates go up, law firm profits have grown. The article concludes, “Law firms need to face the challenge of looking at lawyer performance through new lenses that better reflect the changing realities of today’s legal services market.” (Thomson Reuters Institute)

Should AI regulation come from within?

Lawyers are partial to self-governance, as we may remember from law school ethics classes. According to a new report, 93% of all respondents believe there is a need for regulation of AI technology, writes Catherine Dawson of AffiniPay on Legal Dive. But only 25% of law firm respondents favored government regulation and more than half of legal respondents believe regulation should be at the industry level. If the legal profession wants to maintain its independence regarding AI regulation, then that regulation needs to come from inside the profession. “To integrate AI into legal departments, leadership needs to develop a data governance policy that outlines exactly how AI will be used and how to best protect sensitive information,” Dawson writes. (Legal Dive)

Skip the elevator pitch to build business relationships

On the Law Firm Growth podcast, host Jan Roos interviews lawyer- turned-law-business-consultant Deb Feder on building trust with clients and referral partners. According to Feder, building trust is incremental and about back-and-forth in conversation, not about honing your pitch. “I think the elevator speech is a misconception, right? It's an unfortunate phrase that has become a buzzword for ‘tell everybody there is to know about you in a very tight time period, and then they'll want to know more,’” she remarks “And the fact of the matter is, if you spend that long telling everybody about you, you're missing the chance to connect.” (Law Firm Growth podcast)

Legal marketing is not the Field of Dreams

On the Counsel Cast podcast, Karin Conroy interviews fractional chief marketing officer Angelo Ponzi of Kraft. In the role, Ponzi focuses on strategy and execution rather than simply completing a single project like a website. “I like to say, hope is not a strategy, nor is the Field of Dreams, … just build it and they will come,” Ponzi says. Instead, firms need to identify what makes them unique and follow through with their marketing plans. (Counsel Cast podcast)

Thank you for reading Raise The Bar.

Every Thursday, you'll hear from our team about the most pressing issues facing legal practices today. We'll also try to include some quick-hit reads that touch on interesting cases and precedents being set worldwide.

Have anything you'd like us to cover? Send an email raisethebar@mynewsletter.co

Written by Suzi Morales. Edited by Katie Parsons.