07 Feb Law firms demise shows many sleepwalking to disaster
Former US president Dwight Eisenhower’s had a mantra “What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.”
It’s quite profound, but when you think of it this makes perfect sense. It isn’t urgent that I eat healthily today, but if I fail to do this most days I could end up 20 stone with diabetes and replacement knees.
Hearing the news this week that North West Law Firm Linder Myers, which employs 260 people in the region, has gone into administration makes me think about Eisenhower’s words and wonder how many opportunities did this legal giant have to change its ways before it became, metaphorically speaking, this big fat bloated mess on a life support machine?
For quite a few years now law firms have seen the enormous changes going on in the legal market, the Co-Op now flexing its muscles, the likes of Direct Line now wanting a slice of the pie and yet there are still those acting like it’s 1984 rather than 2014, who hide by dusty cabinets by day and mix with their Rotarian mates at night hoping that all will be well.
Some have gone down the QualitySolicitors path, some have merged, but many are just doing what a three year old does and sticking their fingers in their ears and humming a tune to drown out the messages they want to ignore.
As someone who deals with law firms and is involved in marketing I have a clear message and that is without putting the foundations in place now to make yourself better known, or exploring new avenues you will become another one of those miserable statistics read about in the Law Society Gazette.
There’s plenty of help out there that will see new opportunities open up. It really is that simple. I implore all legal firms who are sleep walking to disaster to now wake up.
It really isn’t that urgent right now, as you deal with those conveyancing cases, or that that messy divorce, but ignore it and you’ll find, maybe not tomorrow, next week or even next month it will become one of the biggest regrets of your life.
