The legal sector today in India is no less than any other enterprising industry domains globally. In the current razor’s edge competition, it is very critical to know the right tricks of the trade. Lex Witness shackles out in a conversation with Dr. Manoj Kumar, Founder, Hammurabi & Solomon to dive into his pandora box of success stories!
I have been an analytical student since the early ages of my life. Coming from a family belonging to law enforcement and public service I had developed a keen interest in law since my days in school. With respect to law school, I had been only interested in National Law School of India University, Bangalore hence had only given entrance examination for the same. Law is a great profession and it offers greater and more varied opportunities than perhaps any other profession.
I truly believe that every lawyer is an ambassador of rule of law and has the ability to positively impact access to justice, social, economic and political – to every person.
I am highly inclined towards Good Governance, Ethical best practices in businesses and professions, Risk & reputation mitigation, Public Policy, Strategy & Regulation and Corporate – Merger & Acquisition. I strongly believe that these areas are not only influenced by the global eco-system but also by microeconomic drivers. These practices are highly psychologically stimulating and do not only requires legal solutions but also strategic counselling. Brainstorming and negotiations with different scholars and experts on varied topics and issues have always been a joy to me. We follow the principle of “your vision, your voice, our advocacy and our solutions”. I have been assisting various clients in providing crucial legal, strategy and policy advice necessary in varied complex areas and with required access to key decision-makers from both parties.
According to me the following are the five most important aspects of a successful law firm:
Differentiate Your Practice – With a clearly defined strategy established and communicated, your core-competency should enable you to differentiate your practice in the marketplace.
Put Your Clients in Front and Center – The most successful firms go to great lengths to make sure the services they provide are consistent and timely. Establish protocols and systems which allow you to manage your clients’ expectations. These should cover client-dedicated relationship partner per client, delivery timings, information updates, and pricing as well as warnings of any potential delays. Great client service is a key differentiator. It will help you to retain clients – and that’s much easier and less costly than bringing in new ones. It also has the knock-on effect of delivering referrals.
Provide Timely Service – The timeliness of the delivery of legal services is one of the most important things that will have an impact on the satisfaction of clients. This makes it important for firms to make sure that they can deliver the required outcomes as scheduled.
Be the Best Place to Work – At the end of the day, the most important characteristic of successful law firms is that they gain a reputation as the best place to work. This way, they attract the best people to provide exceptional legal service. This is related to what has been mentioned above since this is critical in talent retention.
Use of Technology – Successful law firms do not hesitate to use technology for their benefit. They consider it as a necessity and not as a luxury. They train their people to embrace innovation instead of resisting them and sticking to conventional methods.
There is no secret recipe of becoming a prominent counsel. According to me to the mantra should be “continuous research and deep diving, be predictable and consistent in quality of advise, punctuality and finally, out of the box thinking beyond the obvious.”
Absolutely, management of a law firm is no easy task. Not only are you dealing with the expectations of demanding clients, but you are also handling the financial, ethical, and administrative demands of keeping your firm up and running on the path of growth. Effective law management is key to the profitability and longevity of legal practice. Without it, necessary tasks and responsibilities can go unmet, leading to financial and ethical challenges.
After meeting and happily serving various in-house counsels, I believe the following requirements are essential in today’s competitive eco-system:
Highly Skilled Work-force – We have learned that possessing legal knowledge is not sufficient. Clients are expecting us to be abreast with their nature of work and industry insights along with acumen to understand the financial documents.
Cost-effective Turnaround Time – A client shared their queries with a very short deadline and responding well before the deadline will define your competitive edge amongst others.
Ability to Maintain Bi-lateral Communication – It is highly imperative that lawyers/law firms are able to communicate with their clients. Clients do appreciate coffee talk or thought-provoking discussion about the economy, their business, etc
Anyone achieving these requirements will be able to the position of a trusted advisor for the client wherein the client will not only be depending on you for legal solutions but also looking upto for strategic business solutions.
According to me, you can only retain talent by providing a highly stimulating growth-oriented working environment in any law firm. Factors such as quality work, adequate supervision, responsive delegation, space to thing out of the box, coupled with motivational remuneration will ensure that the resource is contributing back to the firm with full efficiency and dedication.
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