This week Nine Feet Tall and Bristol Law Society hosted an interactive workshop to discuss how law firms can adapt to the ever-changing legal landscape.
Delegates from leading firms including Osborne Clarke, Bevan Brittan and Womble Bond Dickinson LLP attended the event and engaged in insightful discussions around changes in the sector. Tiggy Atkinson, Partner and Legal Sector Lead at Nine Feet Tall led the session with thoughts and experiences of agile ways of working and what it means to be a High Performing Organisation.
Across the sector, several external factors have meant firms have had to change the ways in which they operate and adapt to change. These include the disruption of the pandemic and the introduction of hybrid working models, an increase in cybercrime and an increased focus on diversity and inclusion and climate responsibility. Moreover, law firms are grappling with cultural challenges such as defining their purpose, addressing burnout and aftershocks of The Great Resignation.
A key discussion around purpose explored how important this is for differentiation among firms and how a firm’s purpose is increasingly evaluated by clients and prospective recruits. Furthermore, firms struggling to compete on salary affordability are looking to balance flexibility and lifestyle benefits as alternative selling points.
Tiggy Atkinson said: “Adapting to continuous change is essential for law firms to thrive. We have worked with firms to help them embed change capability into each practice area, so they are ready to innovate and use their agility to adjust to shifts in the legal landscape.
We are seeing more and more firms focus on how to become High Performing Organisations (HPOs). Our workshop addressed some of the performance indicators needed to be a HPO, such as a culture of continuous improvement, being customer centric and assessing the balance of skills within the organisation. Focusing on addressing some of these areas allows firms to become higher performing over time.”
Firms who registered for the event have been invited to take these discussion topics back to their firms and then follow up with a free bespoke workshop with Tiggy. These sessions will address:
- What does high performance mean for the firm?
- Heat map of current strengths and challenges
- Areas for priority work
- The firm’s change capability
If you would be interested in attending our events in the future, please contact TiggyA@NineFeetTall.com
