Print
Written by Norman Clark
Category: World View Library
Published: 04 July 2013
Hits: 5272

Like some of you, when I reviewed this year's short list for the Chambers and Partners Awards for Excellence for Latin America, at first I was a little surprised by some of the very good firms that were not finalists for these prestigious and coveted awards.

This post is not an attempt to debate or explain the short list selection criteria that the awards team at Chambers and Partners uses. Instead, I want to share two observations about the firms that did, and did not, make the list.

This is why this post is really about partner empowerment, rather than the Chambers and Partners awards.

One of the characteristics of many of the good firms in Latin America that are not finalists in the country competitions is that many of them retain traditional patriarchal governance structures, decision-making processes, and professional cultures dominated by a small number of senior partners. Junior partners are usually relegated to performing subordinate roles, both in the firm and in client relations. Change happens, but it is slow and frequently must overcome great skepticism and resistance from senior partners.

By contrast, most of the short-list firms in Latin America have made, or are in the process of making, the transition from being family firms, or from firms dominated by a small number of founding partners, to institutional law firms in which all partners perform significant roles in every aspect of the firm's leadership, management, and professional practice. Senior partners frequently are the most noticeable and energetic champions of change.

These observations are not necessarily true of every firm that is on the short list or that is not. However, they describe a significant difference between the nominees for the country Awards for Excellence in Latin America, as a group, and those who are not on the country short lists, as a group.

Whether your law firm is in Latin America or elsewhere, which of these two general observations more accurately describes your partnership? Here are a few questions to consider.

How would your "one big happy family" answer these questions?

All of these issues have strong cultural components; and professional cultures often are difficult and slow to change, even in progressive law firms. However, by making a serious investment in empowering your younger partners, and in communicating higher expectations for them, you will obtain positive results that will be noticed, not only inside the firm, but outside as well.

Even by Chambers and Partners.

Norman Clark