Articles

Avoiding the Bermuda Triangle of law firm management (AFR op-ed) - why some firms suffer from growing pains. Click here to view and listen to a 30-minute interview with Joel discussing this article)

Why culture REALLY REALLY matters - where and how culture drives superior sustainable perfomance

The eight hours saved - what happens when AI saves time that used to be billable

Why you should never leave lawyers' growth pathways to chance (Law Management Journal) - wwo growth options for mid-career lawyers

Have the fundamentals really changed since Maister (Law Management Journal) - the impact of Gen AI on the core profit drivers of law firms

Innovation - Three Strategic Choices (ARITA Journal) - three decisions firms need to make in setting their innovation agenda

How partners tackle a changing legal landscape - chapter in a new book edited by Nick Jarrett-Kerr and Jonathan Middleborough

Rethinking partner remuneration (AFR op-ed) - three factors driving firms to have more flexible partner remuneration models

Sweet succession - navigating the journey of managing partner transition

Winning the talent war (Hong Kong Lawyer) - a strategist's perspective on winning the talent war in a hybrid world

Social license - a game of snakes and ladders (AFR op-ed) - a firm might stay a step ahead of competitors for a while, but drop to the bottom in a heartbeat.

2022 Thomson Reuters Legal Insights State of the Legal Market Report (download from this site)

Revisiting the Profoundly Human Law Firm (with Ray D'Druz) - When we presented our the Profoundly Human Law Firm of 2030 to the Australian Managing Partners’ Forum of 2019, we could not anticipate that Covid might accelerate some of the changes we set out.

Seven insights from the 2022 AFR Law Partnership Survey (AFR op-ed) - a fresh take on the latest top 50 law firm partnership statistics

The legal world is about to enter a new world of standing up for principles (AFR op-ed) - firms need to be better prepared to make difficult ethical choices

The challenges keep rising for overburdened partners (AFR op-ed) - the role of partner needs to be redesigned to make it more sustainable

Will Danny Gilbert's succession be a train wreck or triumph (AFR op-ed) - G+T need to get the right power and governance model first rather than just looking for Danny Mark II

Despite recent successes, law firms fear cultural fragility (AFR op-ed) - vertical and horizontal strategies are needed to retain cultural cohesion

Law firms can learn a trick or two from Qantas (AFR op-ed) - avoiding two key mistakes of grading client relationships

Is bigger better (Law Management Hub) - Smaller, market-leading law firms have proven over the years that size is not a pre-requisite for success, but there are some areas where scale can be an advantage

Are law firms ready for the Great Transition (AFR op-ed) - there will be no let-up in the pressure on individual firms to retain their top talent over the next 12 to 18 months

The empire strikes back (AFR op-ed) - five reasons why private practice law firms may win the war for talent

The Big 4 in law - failing again? (AFR op-ed) - progress to date in the Big 4's grand plans of global domination

The State of the Australian Legal Market - The 2021 report from Thomson Reuters Peer Monitor, Joel Barolsky co-author

Be client-focused, not client-compelled - Five strategies to make sure your pricing is fair to the client and fair to the firm

Is your practice in the right shape (AFR op-ed) - much can go awry if a firm doesn’t have the right balance of senior and junior professionals

Karate Kid lesson for law firms (AFR op-ed) - why it's essential that Australia accelerate its Covid vaccination program

Key partner, where are you going next? (AFR op-ed) - insights from the five stages of a typical partner's career

Leadership development should start earlier (AFR op-ed) - the current system emphasises creating outstanding technical advisers, but not great leaders

Where was Minters' chairman during the Kimmitt crisis (AFR op-ed) - a deep dive into the critical and difficult role of law firm chairperson

How law firms can do more with less (AFR op-ed) - the rise of legal operations to make a step-improvement in productivity

How law firms can avoid 2021 burnout (AFR op-ed) - a key objective for many law firms in 2021 will be to build resilience and avoid burnout.

Partners or owners: the law firm divide (AFR op-ed) - the pros and cons of having non-equity partners in your partnership

Why Harvard is wrong on law firm management (AFR op-ed) - why adviser-owner-leader is a better description of the partner role

Law firms face danger in straying too far from the core (AFR op-ed) - lessons for firms seeking to develop side businesses

Will law firms be more productive but less human? (AFR op-ed) - three more predictions about a post-Covid19 world

2020 State of the Legal Market Report - where the market is and where is it heading based on Thompson Reuters Peer Monitor data

Is HWL Ebsworth Limited a BUY? (AFR op-ed) - How will stockbrokers react to HWL Ebsworth Limited's prospectus?

What does your firm's balance sheet tell you - Make your firm more valuable by focusing on five key intangible assets

How your law firm can limit the virus hit to your bottom-line (AFR op-ed) - Qantas-style pricing and a 'sharing' culture can help counter sharp falls in revenue

Will new partners need to keep grinding away (AFR op-ed) - the long-term impact of Covid-19 on the role of partner

Does your law firm really need a barista (AFR op-ed) - four things law firms need to think about in creating the future

Love the tech you're with, at least for now (AFR op-ed) - three key questions firms need to ask if they are to make more from their existing technology

A post-corona legal world: more kindness, less paper (AFR op-ed) - while there is a lot to fret about, there will also be some important positives

Five ways to improve your firm's balance sheet (AFR op-ed) - intangible assets underpin long-term value creation

Is bigger better (AFR op-ed) - are smaller or larger firms more successful?

The potential profit impact of the Fair Work changes (AFR op-ed) - what would your firm do if awards governed your rewards?

Legal products - New trick for old dogs (AFR- op-ed) - five key success factors for law firms to add technology products to their offering

Why culture really really matters (AFR op-ed) - seven areas where a strong culture adds to firm profit and sustainability

The potential profit impact of new technology (AFR op-ed) - how firms can capture value when technology is a key element of the service offer

Partnerships are productivity machines (AFR op-ed) - why firms should embrace the producer-manager-leader model and not fight it

State of the Legal Market Report - the 2019 Thompson Reuters Peer Monitor report covering the top-end of the Australian legal market

Lean in and be counted - podcast interview with Graham Seldon of Seldon Rosser

Firms paying price for poor HR record (AFR op-ed) - the relationships in and around HR need to improve in many firms

Five lessons from successful lawyers (AFR op-ed) - what a 10-year comparison of the AFR partnership survey tells us

Making Rain - video interview with Dr George Beaton

The profoundly human law firm (with Ray D'Cruz) - the successful law firm in 2030. Click here to listen to our podcast on this topic.

Advancing the retreat (Law Management Hub guest post) - six tips to make partners' retreats more effective

Stop trying to differentiate your firm (AFR op-ed) - why trying too hard to be different is a waste of time and money

Retreat or Defeat (AFR-op-ed) - the strategic choices facing premium Australian law firms

Good times roll but law graduates miss out on a Harvey Specter life (AFR op-ed) - analysis of December 2019 Partnership Survey

Strategies for whatever future holds (AFR op-ed) - the current legal boom a one-off or the start of glory days?

State of the Legal Market - 2018 Peer Monitor Melbourne Law School report, co-authored with Eric Chin

The evolution of the rocket model (AFR op-ed) - the strategic impact of adopting new process technology

What's your Collaboration Agenda - a collaboration planning agenda for you to use and adapt

Beyond mediocrity and myopia (Law Managed Hub guest post) - how to stress test your client strategy

Measurement matters more than money - why the dollar is no substitute for effective leadership

EY's acquisition of Riverview Law (Lawyers Weekly op-ed) - a strategic disaster in the making

Better together (ALPMA guest blog) - 10 reasons collaboration is a good idea

Getting clarity on the CRP role - 10 ways to describe the client relationship partner role

The end of the club (AFR op-ed) - why many collegiate full-service mid-tier firms will fail

Get your practice group strategy right (Law Management Hub) - make sure each practice is playing its part

What's the right price (Acuity Magazine) - the 5-step approach to pricing professional services

Transitioning your low-profit clients - five strategies to make unprofitable relationships more sustainable

Is your firm a club or a one-firm firm? - my 2018 take on the Maister classic

The accountants re-enter legal. Meh! - the Big 4 are not going to have it all their own way

What are your 2018 experiments - your personal, practice and public agendas

Is the demand for legal booming - what if reported market data is fake news

7 key enablers of smart collaboration - how to go from being collegiate to truly collaborative

Advancing the retreat - tips to get more from strategy off-sites, conferences and retreats

Top 20 workshop facilitation tips and secrets - some practical ideas to run better workshops

From pyramids to rockets to ecosystems - the evolution of the professional service firm delivery model

There are two words in “strategic plan” - some practical advice on how to make strategic plans more useful

From collegiate to collaborative - why collaboration is hard and what to do about it

A professional services value chain - 12 ways a firm can improve its profitability and competitiveness

The 2-5-3 method of pricing professional services - a simple method to smarter pricing and capturing more value

Six strategic shifts and implications for HR - the expectations of the HR function are getting higher and higher

The state of the legal market - conclusion from the 2017 Thomson Reuters Peer Monitor MLS Report

Are your practice groups primed to win? - getting all the parts to sum up to something more

10 questions for your plan B - implications on technology change on law firm structure, strategy, style and skills

Firm purpose. Seven Options - alternative ways of thinking about your firm's purpose or reason for being

Pirouettes or Death Spirals - Op-ed on the Australian mid-tier legal market from The Australian Financial Review, 30 June 2017

People, relationships, data: a focus for boards - an article in CPA Australia’s IN THE BLACK, 1 May 2017

The business case for diversity in law firms - Op-ed from The Australian, 20 October 2017

10 reasons culture eats strategy for breakfast - how a positive and productive culture generates profits

Success = Ability + Stability + Agility - how to become a more agile and innovative firm while retaining core strengths

Blockchain: earthquake or rose planting - the impact of the blockchain on in-house legal teams (first published in the Australian Corporate Council Journal, Autumn 2017)

Innovation for sceptics - how to innovate when your firm is filled with smart sceptics

Two-speed firms: the problem and solutions - dealing with differentials in partner commitment and contribution

Five steps to becoming a more agile firm - creating the right foundations to innovate

Culture fit, or do you mean no misfit - don't confuse misfits with cultural catalysts

Is 2017 the year the fat smoker quits? - the forces for change might finally be overwhelming the constraints

Five lessons from five years going solo - insights from the first few years as a freelance management consultant

The Taxi Taxonomy - client analysis on the run

Butcher butcher's paper - innovating with Google Docs in strategy workshops

Getting true client commitment - co-authored with Jon Huxley of Beca on the critical role of leadership in CRM

Norton Rose Fulbright and LawPath - stress testing a NewLaw and BigLaw venture

Is your board focused on strategy or operations - getting your board to pay attention to really important issues

Stress test your client strategy - five categories of client strategies for you to stress test your key account plans

What’s your sneaker strategy - getting clarity on how you will outrun your competitors

Adding adding value - a fresh way to communicate the value you offer to key clients

5 takeways from teaching management at the Melbourne Law School - the best way to learn is to teach

The market test - assessing your firm's strategic health as an external investor would

Redefining shared services - getting more from HR, IT, finance and marketing

The keys to cross-selling - some practical ideas to improve product knowledge across the firm

10 things to do different - making sure your plans are not just more of the same

From MY client to OUR client - why client hoarding is still such an issue and what to do about it

What’s wrong with the sales pipeline - adapting the McKinsey 3 Horizon Growth Model to key account management

Top 10 differentiation tips - an article from the APSMA PSF Journal on how to differentiate your firm

Smarter relationship pricing - co-authored with Colin Jasper covering the merits of incentivised retainers

Can you handle the truth - introducing the Barolsky Barometer cultural mapping tool

Your loyalty levers: head, heart and ego - moving beyond client satisfaction to drive client loyalty

Reports of BigLaw’s death are magnified - article from The Australian on legal industry trends, 20 December 2013

Efforts made for clients define tier one firms - article from The Australian on how top-tier firms manage their key clients, 24 July 2014

What’s your mantra - getting clarity and consensus of your firm’s strategic intent with each key client

Two slides of the client loyalty coin - the importance of getting a good rap AND a good dollar from your clients

Do you know your client’s KPIs - the power of understanding what truly drives client behaviour

Taking the Maister trust equation to a new level - a new formula for building trusted B2B relationships

Facilitating a strategic dialogue around key clients - getting everyone on the firm to share insights around key clients

Are you client-focused or client compelled - recognising the importance of asserting your rights as a supplier

The power of unsolicited proposals - the discipline of consistently thinking how else you could help your client

Don't just set and forget - the keys to ongoing key client governance

So you're ranked your key clients. Now what? - making clear distinctions between your different tiers of clients

The problem of share-of-wallet as a KPI - finding better metrics to assess your key client relationships