Beyond Biglaw: Invest In The Now

What can law firms learn from Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com?

Many of us can no longer remember a world without Amazon. We remember that the company started as an online bookseller, but are probably also unable to pinpoint when Amazon shifted to becoming the grandest bazaar in the history of the world — as well as a television studio, electronics manufacturer, and purveyor of cloud computing infrastructure. What does it all add up to? An iconic American company, one that has been characterized as the “Sears Roebuck of the 21st Century.” With revenues that exceeded Kenya’s GDP — in 2011. That achievement came $50 billion a year in revenue ago.

Critics of the company like to point to the fact that for all its revenue, Amazon often struggles to eke out a profit. The company is sometimes disparaged as a “non-profit,” particularly when it offers a commercial misfire like its ill-fated entry into the smartphone business. But what makes the company amazing, other than its ambition, is its unyielding commitment towards investing into its own operations — systemic, continuous investment. As a technology company, one would suspect that Amazon’s investments lean toward the forward looking, like its well-publicized foray into using drones for rapid delivery of items — such as Grandma’s favorite pair of support stockings.

While Amazon doesn’t shy away from investing in futuristic technology, the key to its success stems more from its relentless investment into improving its business processes. Like hiring armies of temporary “warehouse associates” to make sure that holiday deliveries are made on time. Or offering better fulfillment services — for other online retailers — than the “competition” could ever hope to develop on its own. These investments may not be as exciting as delivery by drone, but in terms of making the shopping experience on Amazon as seamless as possible for customers, they are absolutely essential.

That Amazon chooses to invest in the essential aspects of its business is not a surprise — especially considering the outsized role that the company’s founder, Jeff Bezos, continues to play in setting Amazon’s corporate direction. You can do worse than accepting business advice from self-made billionaires. And Bezos recently offered advice that any business owner, or service provider, could benefit from. In short, he counsels that trying to figure out where your industry or even your company will be in ten years is both a fool’s game and a risky bet. Better to invest in making your business and services as strong as possible — with respect to those things that you know are NOT going to change.

It is fabulous advice, in my opinion, if not a bit counterintuitive. Sure, everyone loves to plan for the future. And thinks that investing in that future is the right thing to do. Except when it is not. Law firms in particular need to be very careful about investing in the reality they want, rather than the reality they are actually in. There are very few Biglaw firms, for example, who have not had disastrous results with at least certain lateral hires, or expansion plans for international offices. The risks are even higher for smaller firms, who do not have the resources to recover from mistakes as easily.

Law firms are interesting businesses. What makes them special is their people. Personnel are a law firm’s most important assets — starting with their experienced attorneys. So investing in a law business is really about two things, when we consider Bezos’s advice: strengthening the hand of current attorneys, to deliver the firm’s work product in the most efficient and effective manner, and making intelligent investments in upgrading the “talent,” to make the firm’s services more attractive to clients. Firms that invest in education for their lawyers and that are very selective when adding new talent are positioning themselves best for current and future success.

Other than investments in talent, Bezos would likely advise law firms to invest even more heavily into better work-product delivery and client communication tools. Code words for technology. I am sure he would love for law firms to use Amazon’s cloud service offerings, assuming they meet the security requirements necessary to preserve client confidentiality, for instance. Other than making sure that your firm’s technological “spine” is a sturdy one, it would also be important to ensure that each and every one of the firm’s core personnel has the appropriate “personal” technology to enable them to succeed. For different lawyers, that may mean different things. For instance, a lawyer who runs a predominantly office-based practice will likely need the best technology available — for both their work and home offices — while a mobile lawyer will need to have the best gizmos for staying productive on the road. Considering how many lawyers are “slow adopters” of technology, there are surely worthwhile investments that firms could identify to make sure their systems — and lawyers — are fully “modernized” from a technology perspective.

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Ultimately, deciding where to invest scarce resources requires serious consideration and thought by firm leaders. If anything, Bezos’s words of caution about chasing future rainbows at the expense of current needs are worth keeping in mind. No firm is perfect, and even if your goals are more modest than Amazon’s, smart investments in the present are the best assurance that your firm will be around to take advantage of future opportunities.

Please feel free to send comments or questions to me at gkroub@kskiplaw.com or via Twitter: @gkroub. Any topic suggestions or thoughts are most welcome.


Gaston Kroub lives in Brooklyn and is a founding partner of Kroub, Silbersher & Kolmykov PLLC, an intellectual property litigation boutique. The firm’s practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and related counseling, with a strong focus on patent matters. You can reach him at gkroub@kskiplaw.com or follow him on Twitter: @gkroub.

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