Jose Paulo Graciotti - STRATEGIC GOVERNANCE FOR LAW FIRMS - 2nd Edition

DEDICATION

To Valeria, my wife, lifelong companion, confidant and l loyal friend. For the past 42 years, you have been my motivation, encouraging and supporting me in all moments through the happy and the difficult times. A reference in my life!

Thank you, L!

ACNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am very pleased that Jos Paulo Graciotti has written a second edition of this book. He is one of our most astute commentators on the management of law firms drawing on many years of relevant experience, his observations are practical, actionable, and wise.

Professor Richard Susskind OBE

Author of Tomorrows Lawyers.

The business of law has never been so challenging. Clients are seeking excellent commercial advice, delivered innovatively and cost effectively. Law firms are under price pressure like never before. Understanding your business is now every bit as important as understanding that of our clients and understanding the law. This second edition of Graciottis book is the perfect guide to those wanting not just survive but thrive in this new world.

STEPHEN ALLEN Global Head of Legal Operations,

Innovation Lead - HOGAN LOVELLS.

There are few people who know and understand the dynamics and inner workings of the legal industry better than Jos Graciotti. Jos navigates the aspects of people, process, and technology in a way that allows legal leaders to see the potential of their practice and unlock the business strategies that increase profits and improve the client experience and service delivery. Truly an artist in his work with an infectious enthusiasm and wit.

Marriott Murdock

NetDocuments Regional Director Latin America

Strategic Governance for Law Firms is a must read for current and aspiring law firm leaders and attorneys. Jos Paulos overview and explanation of the changing dynamics of the legal industry and its impact on law firms provides critical insight into what law firms need to do to address those changes.

Mark sMolik

General Counsel Chief Compliance Officer DHL

Supply Chain Americas

With close to three decades in the legal industry, including executive positions in two of Brazils leading law firms, Jos brings a unique perspective. His new book, Strategic Governance for Law Firms, covers the history of the legal market, challenges facing law firms, and a clear path to success for lawyers focusing on data analytics, information governance, leadership, technology, and future trends. As an industry leader, Jos conceived and produced a very successful conference, bringing together dozens of law firm partners, and senior in-house counsel. I was honored to be a part of 1 International Information Governance Conference for the Legal Market, which was among the most professional and comprehensive conferences of its type I have seen.

PATRICK DIDOMENICO Chief Knowledge Officer,

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C New York, USA.

Author of the book: Knowledge Management for Lawers ABA, 2015.

FOREWORD

How do we manage law firms in this new business environment, where the clients expect more and more, for less, from their lawyers? How do we adapt ourselves to the changes to automation and the digital area? Client expectations regarding the speed, objectivity and quality of the services provided by their lawyers -internally and externally- has radically changed in recent years. There is a growing demand for more modern models of legal management, both for law firms and for company departments, with more focus on the customer and on the business. No longer is there tolerance for vague, inconclusive and unfounded opinions on concrete facts. There is also no room for lawyers who distant themselves from the realities encountered in a firm, who think in the abstract and are not willing to take responsibility for the consequences of the recommendations made to the client.

Clients now demand an engaged service from professionals who are able to position themselves as true partners in the organization. The business lawyer became a leading player in business, providing legal solutions and generating results. In this new role, business law needed to embrace the new, adopting more management models and incorporating automation and industrial indicators to manage efficiency and quality in their daily lives.

In order to break paradigms in a traditional area such as the legal sector , it is essential to rely on the vision of someone who really knows the complexity of this scenario: Jos Paulo Graciotti, with decades of experience as a professional administrator of law firms, combines the qualities of an entrepreneur with his vast experience in the legal sector. He became a foremost expert of the markets demands for legal services and, above all, how to best serve them. In this book, Graciotti approaches the topic from the management of customer expectations to the use of technology, confronting the gaze of the manager, the service provider and the user. Moreover, Graciotti is at the heart of the transformational challenge: he evaluates the psychology of the legal professional and the difficulties of adapting their traditional role to new trends.

This book provides deep insights and essential challenges to managers of law firms, militants in business law and corporate managers on the adaptation of law firms to their new strategic role, always from the sagacious point of view of one of the most renowned managers of the market. It is indispensable read for lawyers, office managers, legal business managers and entrepreneurs of all sectors.

Alexandre S. DAmbrosio*

Executive Vice President of Legal and Corporate Affairs of Banco Santander (Brasil) S/A, with 20 years of experience as business legal manager and 11 years [of experience] as partner and associate of U.S law firms.

PREFACE

The reflections compiled in this book by Jos Paulo is the result of his profound experience in terms of organization, strategic planning and governance of law firms, initially as a managing partner, and later as an independent consultant . The reports, analysis and recommendations gain a very special meaning, since the author is an engineer and does not practice as a lawyer, which, as the book illustrates, allows him to develop an external and quite lucid view of the evolution of the organizational models and the misfortunes that surround the legal profession, with an emphasis on the main challenges, the alternative solutions and the future trends.

The text has no academic pretensions. On the contrary, it favors colloquial language and makes use of metaphors, which makes the reading pleasant and facilitates the comprehension of the messages that the author intends to convey. Particularly illustrative is the comparison between the random motion of the particles immersed in a fluid that is submitted to heating (Brownian motion) and the stresses that are inherent to a society of lawyers whose partners share technical affinities, professional complementation, personal aspirations and ethical values. When partners are submitted to pressure, those attributes generate friction and resulting impact, fostering the tendency of breakup.

The reader will clearly see that the legal services market is being transformed quickly and profoundly. It is no longer the contracted law firm who dictates the conditions for the rendering of services, but instead, the contracting client, mainly with the regard to the fee arrangement to be adopted. The most significant factor inducer aspect of this change in paradigm is the intense competition, resulting from the increase in the number of qualified, specialized and well structured offices. At the same time, the pressure exerted by corporate clients has increased, due to the decrease in the costs of legal services, in addition to the demand for higher commitment, responsiveness and ethical behavior by the lawyer. The need for the comprehension and adaptation to the new scenario has become a decisive factor for the survival of professional organizations in the legal area.