Forecast: Legal Industry Trends in 2018

This recent Forbes article, summarizes some of what was addressed during the inaugural meeting of  the Legal Institute for Forward Thinking.  Trends in the global legal landscape present great opportunities, increased competition and ever-changing challenges.

• Ensure financial fitness.  Firms that fail, generally have plenty of advance notice to made adjustments.  Make sure your firm is financially fit, including having a compensation system that works with its current financial health.
• Smarter marketing and business development.  Competition remains, and will continue to be, fierce.  Firms of all sizes and practice mixes need to “sell smarter, reduce deliver cost and improve quality of service” across ALL levels of serving clients.
• Establish micro-niches to show depth. We are entering the “age of the micro-niche” – law firms need to get deep and show expertise in specific sub-areas of sectors.  These sub-specialties typically have and will arise over time; they are not all apparent and obvious to us now.  New technologies, evolving markets, environmental and political issues, often spawn these narrow niches.  Smart and informed lawyers, who study and really know their clients’ industries and businesses, will be the winners.  Effective positioning and industry knowledge will place law firms in the lead to solve clients’ current and anticipated problems.

More now than EVER before, law firms need to operate in a streamlined effort, remain organized, relevant, and strategically focused.  If your law firm needs help with industry marketing and strategic positioning, in Seattle-WA, Salt Lake City-UT or Madison-WI, contact us.