Hi there,
We’ve all seen it coming — a cooling economy, technology accelerants, the beginnings of a global recession.
Lawyer layoffs are here (although often thinly veiled as a consequence of “performance” shortcomings).
I’ll spare you my “kill the billable” rhetoric (kind of).
Yes, the billable hour system is a huge part of the problem.
Firms have long inflated their hours relative to the actual value that they deliver.
With everyone keen on controlling costs, clients are now calling their bluff (well at least some clients are — but not enough of them).
Layoffs are the natural consequence as firms attempt to “right-size” their headcount — and as the budgets of in-house teams, stretched thin by outside-counsel spend, are called into question.
But here we are.
Still trying to kill the billable hour. 🤺
Still living with its consequences. 😡😓
Killing the billable hour model is going to take time (although large language models like ChatGPT will help shorten that timeline).
So what can we do to protect our talent right now?
We’ve been hosting our Innovative Legal Leadership Podcast for two years now. In fact, we just released our 100th episode with our very own COO, Michelle Landy!
During that time, I’ve gotten to hear from a lot of people (most of them smarter than me 🧠 — not that hard, I know) about how they protect their talent.
Here are two important things I’ve learned.
1. Top legal teams get their people “outside of legal.”
Doug Barnard, GC of CF Industries is a remarkable example of a GC doing this well.
When we last spoke on the podcast, he reported a 20% reduction in outside-counsel spend by empowering his in-house team to do incredible work.
His secret?
Giving his lawyers the opportunities to do non-legal things elsewhere in the business.
Like tasking one of his new in-house lawyers (with no prior experience in construction) to co-lead a four-year multi-billion dollar chemical plant construction project 👷♂️ while simultaneously carrying out his legal role ⚖️ for the company.
As Doug put it:
It’s in our culture to let promising people do new things to get more experience… to prioritize the development of individuals over finding someone tailor-made for an important role.
Lori Schechter, GC at McKesson Corporation echoed a similar sentiment in leading her team to be a value add to the business 🤝 , rather than a “department of no.” 🚫
By giving her team growth opportunities and exposure outside of law, she helps her team be more closely tied to the company’s purpose, vision, and objectives.
2. Great legal teams foster a “choose yes” kind of culture
Our COO and GC, Michelle Landy, is a fantastic example of what it looks like to “choose yes.”
I asked Michelle what gave her the courage early in her legal career to ditch her firm job and move countries to pursue an in-house role, while having no experience, no friends, no security, and no specific new position lined up.
Her answer was this:
I was always very curious. And I’ve always tried to put myself in uncomfortable situations (she aims for a 60-40 balance of uncomfortable to comfortable). And I’ve always said "yes."
Michelle thinks of her progression as a “tree” 🌳 rather than a “ladder” 🪜 with many options that intertwine and expand as you grow in experience.
As Michelle further explained, “You very rarely regret the things you do. You will always figure it out. It’s the things that you don’t do that you ultimately end up regretting.”
You can hear it for yourself in the podcast, but I think it turned out pretty well for Michelle, and we’re lucky to have her.
To sum it all up, I’ll leave you with this.
Lawyer layoffs are just the beginning.
The legal industry is in a time of transition like no other, heavily influenced by the acceleration of large language models like ChatGPT.
We’ve got a long way to go in fixing the billable hours system.
In the meantime, firms, in-house teams, and individual attorneys alike need to start building their resilience muscles if they want to survive, let alone thrive during this transition.
Two surefire ways to do it are to:
✔️ Get outside your legal bubble.
✔️ Say "yes" as often as possible.
What else would you add to this list?
Cheers,
