March 11, 2022

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The scarcity mindset discussed in the article below resonates – the link to fear of failure is something we have discussed within Elevate to better support our customers amidst this mindset change. We encourage customers to reframe the issue: rather than viewing failure as a blunder, instead consider it and, most importantly, respond to it as an opportunity to learn and improve. Embrace it and seek to understand its learnings because they drive positive change. The potential impact of this approach is enormous, so share your new insights, not just internally but with the wider legal profession.

The latter audience is crucial. I was part of a law firm collaboration group involving several firms trialling the same new tool. The unwillingness to share learnings was astonishing to someone whose career did not begin in the legal sector – especially since sharing wasn’t a zero-sum endeavour. The experience highlighted the opportunity cost of not trying something – and the even bigger opportunity cost to the entire industry when people and organisations do not share learnings.

Another issue raised by a scarcity mindset relates to the skills of people. There is a significant opportunity cost of not understanding the value that diverse skillsets bring to solving a problem. I have experienced first-hand how some lawyers conceive of a multi-disciplinary team composed of a mix of lawyers from different practice areas! According to Gartner, there is cause for optimism; law departments will replace 20% of generalist lawyers with nonlawyer staff by 2024. Law departments are grasping the benefits of embracing the diversity of skills and backgrounds to drive innovation.

Indeed, ‘Reprogram(ing) our cultural operating system to maintain relevance and value’ is not an easy task. Yet it is necessary to meet the increasing demands from law departments for change and law firms to retain staff during the current competition for talent.