Link to Keywords: Uncertain, Unstable, Changing, Chaotic, Complex, Technology, AI, Private Equity, Talent, Litigation Finance Keywords: Uncertain, Unstable, Changing, Chaotic, Complex, Technology, AI, Private Equity, Talent, Litigation Finance
[Editor’s note: This post is a large excerpt from Patrick’s and Michael’s annual survey of law firm leaders. By a wide margin, what makes this year’s survey so interesting are the number of issues that five or ten years ago, no one would have seen coming—AI, PE investment in law firms. Many thanks to Patrick and Michael for sharing these interesting and provocative findings. wdh.]
Everybody wants to know about the future, as it often feels as though our world is changing so fast that we wonder what’s next. Markets shift, emerging technologies shake up old business models, new competitors arrive, and unrecognized trends assume center stage.
As Peter Drucker, the late Father of Modern Management, once commented, “the seeds of the future are already growing in the present.” Our quest, then, is to tap the keen foresight of those in the highest leadership positions in the profession and inquire about the particular seeds they see growing.
With this survey, as with our previous efforts, we reached out to over 200 Law Firm Leaders with a series of 7 questions and were pleased to receive 73 detailed responses, representing firms ranging in size from 200 to over 2000 lawyers. Of those responding, 75% were from Firm Leaders who had served in their Leadership positions for over 7 years and 47% were representative of larger law firms of over 500 lawyers in size, which was unusual but gratifying to experience.
While perspectives were slightly different depending upon how long the responding Firm Leader had served, or what sized firm a particular Firm Leader was responsible for managing, we were not surprised to hear some common themes. As one respondent put it succinctly, “There are a number of issues burning intensely.”
As a result of reviewing the survey answers, we then reached out to a number of these Firm Leaders to initiate and elicit their written responses to four specific issues that seemed to be both timely and strategic in nature – all issues one might just naturally expect proactive firm leaders to be concerned with monitoring and addressing. We asked:
If you are in agreement that some or all of these may indeed be worthy of provoking further exploration and analysis in 2026 – PLEASE share your candid views and thoughts: What are you seeing and what do you believe is going on out there?
What follows here is a summary of the responses our research survey questions uncovered together with what we were advised by our responding Firm Leaders concerning issues they tell us that they are keeping a vigilant eye focused upon. We were reminded of the late founder and CEO of Intel Corporation, Andy Grove’s comment to the effect that “Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive.”
That said, we leave it to you to determine how many of these various burning issues you feel strongly about and sense that going forward they may be even ‘more burning’ than it appeared last year or the year before.