“In the structure of law firms, there will not be only lawyers” XII Legal Forum

Analysis of the transformation of the legal sector, perspectives, and strategies

The legal marketing, communications and business development consultancy Gericó Associates, together with the ESAN Graduate School of Business Law, has held the XII Latin American Legal Forum. Partners representing law firms from Colombia, Ecuador, Spain, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and the Dominican Republic have analyzed the transformation of the legal sector, its perspectives, and strategies for efficiency, profitability, and innovation. Sandra Salmerón, general coordinator of ESAN Graduate School of Business Law (Peru) and Marc Gericó, managing partner of Gericó Associates (Spain), opened the first panel of the forum, moderated by Diana Jennen, director of communication and business development of Gericó Associates (Spain).

First panel of the XII Latin American Legal Forum: The transformation of the sector as a reality. Advances, perspectives and projects

In the first panel, the participants analyzed the progress and challenges of the legal sector. According to Xavier Rosales, partner at CorralRosales in Ecuador, it is important to differentiate between adaptation and transformation:

 “Our firms are in one of the two processes, but there is a big difference: adaptation is reactive, passive, circumstances lead us to adapt. Transformation, on the other hand, is conscious. This makes a big difference”.

In this regard, Liz Gordillo, managing partner of Arias in Guatemala, stressed that not only law firms are going through a profound change, but that clients are also experiencing it: “We have to be prepared to provide the best solutions to our clients, who are going through this profound transformation,” said Liz.

For her part, Lazo de Romaña & Bravo Abogados partner in Peru Claudia Távara highlighted the growing role of technology in attracting clients: “Now, without much structural change, it is possible to reach more clients thanks to technology. Law firms must invest in these tools in order not to fall behind in their business development methods.”

In relation to attracting and retaining talent, Nicolás Tirado, partner at Philippi, Prietocarrizosa, Ferrero DU & Uría in Colombia, stressed that talent “is not infinite”: “It is difficult to find talent and retain it. A particularly relevant attribute today is digital talent, a characteristic more valued than ever and typical of young people, digital natives”.

Second panel of the XII Latin American Legal Forum: Charting the way to more efficient, profitable and innovative law firms

The second panel of the forum, moderated by Juan José Hopkins, professor at ESAN Graduate School of Business Law in Peru, focused on efficiency, profitability, and innovation in law firms. Carlos de la Pedraja, global corporate director of ONTIER, analyzed the necessary distinction between efficiency and effectiveness in the legal sector: “Law firms have always been much more effective than efficient. In law firms, we still have the hourly billing structure, which is complicated when it comes to being efficient. From my point of view, firms have been made for lawyers, and that structure is designed with them in mind, when really the power is no longer in our hands, but in those of the clients.”

He also explained that the core business of the firms will continue to be their lawyers, but other profiles that provide added value to the client will become more important: “In the pyramids that make up the structure of the firms there will not only be lawyers. When we talk about business models, we can seek efficiency by outsourcing certain services, generating greater value for the client. To have an efficient model we have to stop thinking about the lawyer and think about the client and the most efficient structures that exist in our environment. We have to evolve.

Along the same lines, Miguelina Figueroa, head of Headrick’s Intellectual Property and Regulatory Affairs department in the Dominican Republic, explained that it is the job of lawyers to understand what the client expects in order to know how to be more efficient: “When we go to make selections of what costs we should assume, we cannot lose sight of what the client expects from us.”

Alejandro Mesa, managing partner of Baker McKenzie in Colombia, analyzed the growing relevance of Legal Project Management in law firms: “The Legal Project Manager channels the new needs arising from the requirement of clients for more commercial responses. In addition, this new figure has an impact on the relationship between efficiency and effectiveness”.

Rodolfo Rueda, the partner at Holland & Knight in Mexico, pointed out the need to adapt to the progressive assumption of tasks by technology that used to be performed by lawyers: “In the year 1900, there were only one hundred and eight thousand lawyers in the entire United States. Today, there are more than a million. In addition, the global marketplace is more competitive and efficient. The lawyer has become a business facilitator, which requires greater efficiency and corporate leadership from law firms. In short, it is about contributing greater value to the community of which we are a part”.

Marc Gericó, managing partner of Gericó Associates, expressed his gratitude to all the panelists of the XII Latin American Legal Forum: “Our goal is to provide a meeting and reflection place for the legal sector, where the transformation processes, challenges, and opportunities experienced by law firms are periodically analyzed”.dee

Gerico Associates is the first legal marketing and legal communications consulting firm in Europe and Latin America. If you would like to be informed about future events or participate in one of them, you can contact us by sending an email to info@gericoassociates.com or by clicking here.