Law Firm Partners Need To Be Schooled In Business

Law firms sending associates to “business boot camp” have the right idea, but the wrong employees are getting schooled, President of the Legal Marketing Association Timothy B. Corcoran says: “The weakest link in the law firm value chain isn’t the associates, it’s the partners.” Too often, he says, law firms are unfamiliar with their clients’ business, and that leads to miscalculations and short-sighted solutions. Firms are right to pursue more business acumen, but partners must be involved in that ongoing education, too. “[B]usiness-savvy lawyers establish beachheads as trusted advisors rather than as expensive suppliers,” Corcoran says, “And it should start at the top.”