WHAT our Services Do to help Firms Evolve
Strategic Planning+
Organizational assessment, market review, competitor analysis, planning and implementation benchmarks
EvolveLaw’s strategic planning process uncovers a firm’s position in the current changing marketplace; filters the firm’s strengths and weaknesses through the differentiators that make law firms stand out and provide value in the legal services market; and articulates or refines strategic goals to solidify the firm’s value proposition.
Our process assesses the following buckets of law firm differentiation
We build consensus around a culture-driven strategic plan, providing a decision framework for stakeholders to assess key possibilities and the timeline, likelihood of success, and potential ROI for each.
Industry Integration+
Internal and market-facing restructure around vertical industry groups, leveraging existing strong practices and emerging practices in line with strategy
One of the most effective ways for law firms to enhance value to clients is to organize and build around industry groups. EvolveLaw can help firms understand the power of industry groups, determine strategic industry direction (driven by existing clients, the firm’s core markets, and talent skills), change systems to reflect industry strengths and serve industry goals, and achieve maximum client efficiencies.
Governance & Management+
Assess, address and develop governance and management structures, policy issues, leadership roles, and management practices to align with strategy
Governance and management systems are key to strategic implementation. Good governance serves strategy; bad governance kills it. EvolveLaw helps firms develop governance and management structures as necessary to focus on and maximize strategic change and growth.
Mergers, Acquisitions and Consolidations+
Evaluate merger, lateral acquisition and consolidation potential and opportunities by assessing key drivers and creating ideal candidate profiles, then research thoroughly for solid possible fits. Drive merger, acquisition or consolidation process to completion.
Driven by strategy and a law firm’s key differentiators, firms can grow efficiently and well. When talent acquisition is strategic, the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts. EvolveLaw helps firms evaluate merger, lateral acquisition and consolidation potential and opportunities by assessing key drivers and creating ideal candidate profiles, research thoroughly for solid possible fits, and drive merger, acquisition or consolidation process to completion.
Compensation and Advancement+
Appraise and revise compensation and advancement systems to align with strategy and best practices.
Compensation and advancement are the primary reflections of strategy within firms. They are also the primary reflections of culture. It is possible to evolve compensation and advancement to drive growth and motivate lawyers well, while maintaining and indeed enhancing what’s special about each firm’s culture. Law firms can reward each contributor well and fairly for his or her unique contributions. Firms can deploy comp and advancement systems to plan for the future and incentivize long term value. EvolveLaw can help firms to identify most important areas for the comp and advancement changes needed to further strategy and enhance culture, and implement those changes carefully and fairly.
Succession planning+
Plan and execute leadership and practice succession in line with culture and strategy.
Strategy should support legacy. Legacy flows from careful succession planning. Your strategy, and the competencies you need to carry it out, hinges on having the right people grow into management and take over client relationships. Without seamless client succession, clients can suffer or even leave the firm. Without effective leadership succession, the firm can suffer a leadership vacuum, and the wrong people may fill the void. EvolveLaw can help assess potential successors and their competencies, fill gaps, make a plan for leadership or practice transition, and support execution of the plan.
Data and Financial Analysis+
Refine data and financial systems to reflect strategic focus and empower owners to reach goals.
Strategy must carry into how law firms look at and use performance metrics. The right inputs underpin adept analysis, which leads to efficient and fair decisions in every data- and finance-driven area from staffing to tech investment to comp. Refining data and financial systems to support strategic goals is essential, and EvolveLaw can help identify priorities to gather, track and use data well.
industries, niche services and client-types
driven by clients, talent, or market opportunity
alternative staffing, affiliations and referral networks, project management tools, or other nontraditional business models
technology tools, pricing strategies, outside resources and other tools
statistics, key accomplishments, trends, credentials, marquee clients