The Client
The partners of a 125 lawyer IP law firm headquartered in the Northeast with two additional offices.
The Challenge
The partners were unable to implement a growth and branding strategy that sat on a shelf gathering dust. We were asked to diagnose the obstruction and provide a solution.
The Solution
We immediately recognized a common psychological obstacle to strategy implementation. Often the people, who will be affected by the strategy and asked to implement parts of it in, are not involved in the planning and design phase. Using face-to-face interviews and a written survey to collect data, a diagnostic model, and an off-site retreat, key partners were encouraged to discuss the “elephant in the room.” There was never consensus among partners about many implementation steps of the strategy.
The Results
The partners went through several rounds of discussion before concluding that the best solution was for three groups of partners to leave the firm. One group started a firm with a very different business model. Two other groups joined other firms, one joined a much larger international firm, while the other joined a smaller regional firm. The remaining partners were united and able to move the strategy forward.