I have always felt like accountants envy lawyers. Then, again, what’s not to envy? Lawyers draft important laws; accountants fiddle with calculators and play with spreadsheets. Lawyers negotiate deals, big deals; accountants make sure the “numbers work.”
When you get charged with impaired driving, do you run to Larry, your accountant? If your assh*le neighbor shoots up your chicken coop with an automatic rifle, do you get Larry the accountant to sue him? When your spouse kicks you out of the house and locks the door, do you call Larry to get access to your children?
Heck, no, you call your lawyer, Charles Sterling “Chuck” Ambercrosbie IV. He’s at the country club schmoozing. He has women, called secretaries, who work for him and know how to track him down. When you have a problem, he’ll meet you at his office that looks like it was built in 1920 (because it was built in 1920). It’s a warm, inviting space with no WiFi where secretaries bring you coffee and a little tray of cookies.
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Larry doesn’t have cookies because it’s an expense, and the bottom line is all-important. Good ole, Chuck. He takes care of your problems… and feeds you cookies.
Lawyers and accountants work for the same clients. But, it’s clear who’s number one in the clients’ hearts.
That’s why I’m a bit suspicious of a recently released report by accounting giant Deloitte called, “Developing legal talent: Stepping into the future law firm.” It warns the legal profession that it needs to change to keep up with the times.
Really, accountants? Chuck’s got such a good thing going. Why would Chuck change?
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I think it may be a trick by a major accounting firm to flip the script — to get lawyers to do something stupid, like give up a good thing — then Larry can knock Chuck off his pedestal and get more client love. No more second banana for Larry…
Developing Legal Talent was written for the UK legal market, which is more progressive than Canada’s. Here are some interesting takeaways from the report. You can decide for yourself whether it makes sense or it’s simply accountant fearmongering designed to steal the top of the podium from the legal profession:
- Tipping Point. Deloitte thinks 2020 is a tipping point for the UK market. Law firms need to change by then to keep up with the times or risk getting left behind, which could include going out of business.
- Traditional Lawyers. Technology is going to reduce the number of “traditional lawyers.” Furthermore, the traditional lawyers who remain in such roles must become tech savvy in addition to utilizing their traditional knowledge and technical skills.
- Non-lawyers. Increase in technology means an increase in the number of non-lawyer employees that firms must hire to manage and make best use of technology.
- Career paths. As firms continue to expand globally, lawyers will become more mobile. Additionally, firms will need to generate different working arrangements that create flexibility. Because of this, the traditional associate-to-partner career path will be one of potentially several career paths. Firms will have to grapple with how to hire, retain, motivate, and compensate lawyers who are not on a partnership path. Further, it won’t be long before those dreaded Millennials will make up a large portion of the legal workforce. As we all know, Millennials think differently about work and life than our country-clubber, Chuck. Dealing with Millennials, and creating law firms that attract and retain them, will be an ongoing challenge in the near future.
- Competitive Factors. Firms of different sizes will face different challenges, but have different competitive advantages. Small firms may face greater financial pressures in order to make effective use of technology. On the other hand, smaller firms may be more be more nimble and able to change. Medium firms will need to be particularly focused on talent acquisition in order to compete with bigger firms, which have, presumably, greater ability to invest in talent and technology. Well-run large firms will have the financial might to make best use of technology. But, of course, getting an elephant to veer off the trail and break a new path through the thick jungle can be daunting.
Here is a link to the full report. I’ve just skimmed the surface for you; there are many more nuggets contained therein (I’d like to see Larry use “contained therein” on an income statement. Good luck.). Although it was written for the British legal market, I think a lot of it applies to the Canadian legal market — if it’s not a trick, that is…
That’s the View From Up North. Have a great week.
Steve Dykstra is a Canadian-trained lawyer and legal recruiter. He is the President of Steven Dykstra Law Professional Corporation, a boutique corporate/commercial law firm located in the greater Toronto area. You can contact Steve at [email protected]. You can also read his blog at stevendykstra.wordpress.com, follow him on Twitter (@Law_Think), or connect on LinkedIn (ca.linkedin.com/in/stevedykstra/).