Managing Partners stress the importance of attorneys from different practice areas working together to serve key clients. Despite uneven success in execution, collaborating across practices generates a deeper understanding of a client’s business, helps spot issues and opportunities more effectively, and attracts VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) matters, leading to more sophisticated engagements.
Obstacles to Collaborating on a Client
Despite its benefits, collaboration often stumbles over a lack of trust. Attorneys might not know their colleagues’ expertise or may not have strong interpersonal relationships with them, leading to fears that colleagues might mishandle the work. Addressing these concerns is crucial for paving the way for effective collaboration.
“Opportunity” and “Relationship” Attorneys
For every collaboration, there are two types of attorneys. The “opportunity attorney” seeks introductions to clients from the “relationship attorney,” who has, as the name suggests, a relationship with the client’s decision-makers.
Opportunity attorneys can be younger-generation partners or lateral hires. They might come from newly opened offices or lead emerging practice areas. They need access to existing client decision-makers and are often frustrated by relationship attorneys’ reluctance to open doors and make introductions. The blunt approach of “Just introduce me to your clients and I’ll take it from there” is typically a non-starter.
For relationship attorneys, collaboration FUDs (fears, uncertainties, doubts) are significant barriers. These include concerns about trust, comfort with the colleague’s service or capabilities, credit and reward for bringing in colleagues, potential disintermediation, understanding client and colleague needs, and capacity to manage additional responsibilities. Overcoming FUDs is essential for creating a collaborative environment.
Building Internal Collaboration Plans
Creating internal collaboration plans is a “two-sale” process. The first sale is internal—convincing the relationship attorney that collaboration is beneficial. The second sale is to the client, introducing new attorneys to the decision-makers and asking to be considered in a new area. Building trust is crucial in both stages.
The opportunity attorney needs to demonstrate an understanding of both the client and the relationship attorney’s needs, highlighting the “what’s in it for me” (WIIFM) aspect. Concerns about the quality of work, deadlines, and maintaining client service levels are barriers that must be addressed to mitigate any perceived threats to the existing relationship. Conversely, the relationship attorney needs to understand that the benefits of multiple practice areas for a client far outweigh the risks. The result is multi-disciplinary opportunities that increase client retention and ultimately drive more revenue for both attorneys and the firm.
Commitment: Cross-Selling to True Collaboration
True collaboration happens when relationship and opportunity attorneys work together through all phases of client service. Strategic collaboration sets a firm apart by providing a diversified team that understands the client’s business from multiple viewpoints and disciplines. This proactive, holistic, client-centered, and non-siloed approach positions the firm as a team dedicated to collaborative efforts. By building bonds between opportunity and relationship attorneys through strategic collaboration, law firms can unlock new opportunities, strengthen client relationships, and drive significant growth and success.