𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵? In this case, a staggering A$15.3 million.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 Unlike most handbags however, this one has a story to tell.
It was the very first Birkin bag.
Designed by Hermès executive Jean-Louis Dumas in 1984, following a chance encounter on a flight with actress and singer Jane Birkin (hence the name), the bag was used daily by Birkin for nearly a decade before she donated it to an Aids Charity auction.
What the sale of this bag evidences though is how value extends beyond material worth. Value is not the $$$ signs you seen on the price-tag; it’s about the stories we tell, the history we preserve, and the emotional connections we forge.
The sale of this bag is a powerful reminder to professionals that authenticity and narrative can elevate your service offering from ordinary to iconic.
It is your powerful – and likely only – differentiator. It is what clients are willing to pay for.
As we navigate 2025, Australian midsize law firms find themselves at a pivotal crossroads—balancing client expectations, talent retention and the promise (and pitfalls) of technology. The recently released 2025 Australian Midsize Law Firm Priorities Report by Actionstep offers a deep dive into what’s shaping the future for these firms.
Here’s s summary of what you need to know from the Report—and how your firm can stay ahead.
🎯 Client Satisfaction: The Cornerstone of Growth
It’s clear—client satisfaction is king. 71% of midsize firms rank it as their top priority for protecting and growing revenue. But it’s not just about delivering legal outcomes; it’s about building trust-based relationships, offering personalised service and consistently exceeding expectations.
Interestingly, firms are focusing more on deepening relationships with existing clients rather than chasing new business. In fact, 37% see expanding existing client accounts as their primary growth strategy for 2025.
✅ Takeaway: If your firm isn’t investing in client experience, you’re leaving growth on the table.
👥 Talent Retention: Your Secret Weapon
While technology grabs headlines, midsize firms know that people drive performance.
59% of firms highlight attracting and retaining talent as a top strategic priority.
Engaging work, leadership and firm culture outrank pay as key reasons employees stay.
However, when employees consider leaving, pay and remuneration become the decisive factor. This signals a clear message: while meaningful work keeps people engaged, competitive compensation keeps them committed.
✅ Takeaway: Create a workplace where talent thrives—offer challenging work, clear career paths and ensure your pay structures remain competitive.
💻 Technology & Automation: The Untapped Advantage
Despite recognising efficiency challenges, midsize firms remain cautious adopters of automation and AI:
Only 38% are actively using automation tools.
Just 5% have reached AI maturity.
Cybersecurity concerns and data privacy remain top barriers.
There’s also a noticeable gap in digital client experience. While firms excel in personalised, human-centric service, only 41% feel confident in their digital touchpoints like client portals and automated communications.
✅ Takeaway: Embrace technology—not to replace people, but to empower them. Automation can reduce workloads, freeing your team to focus on high-value client interactions.
🔐 Cybersecurity: More Than Just IT’s Problem
With client trust on the line, cybersecurity is non-negotiable. Yet, the biggest risk isn’t technology—it’s human error. Over 63% of firms cite staff behaviour (think password sharing, weak authentication practices) as their top vulnerability.
✅ Takeaway: Build a security-first culture. Regular training, robust protocols, and smart tools like multi-factor authentication are essential to protect both your firm and your clients.
🏆 5 Strategies for Midsize Law Firm Success in 2025
Acknowledge Tech Scepticism: Start small, demonstrate wins, and build confidence in automation.
Prioritise Efficiency: Use automation to tackle time constraints and free up your team for strategic work.
Enhance the Client Experience: Leverage digital tools to complement your personal service.
Strengthen Cybersecurity: Focus on both technology and employee awareness.
Put People First: Foster engaging work environments and ensure competitive compensation.
Final Thoughts
2025 presents both challenges and opportunities for Australia’s midsize law firms. Those that blend human expertise with smart technology, prioritise client relationships, and invest in their people will be best positioned to thrive in an increasingly competitive market.
When I was younger, my mother would often say to me: “Because it’s important to you Richard, doesn’t make it important to me“.
My mother had worked with lawyers earlier in her career, and I thought this piece of advice just profound (as you typically do with tidbits your mum says when growing up!). Until one day I was working with a partner who said exactly the same thing to me when I mentioned I had been waiting to see him all day!
So what’s the point I’m trying to make here?
Well, as with most things in life, when we think about what our clients need/want we think of this from the prospective of what we can provide them, rather what their true needs/wants are. To try and minimise this, I often ask my clients: “So What?“.
Asking “So What?” can sound abrasive. But, what it does is help to clarify the message, the reason, the rational we are sending to our clients about why they need our services/products and why they need them now.
And so I thought I would run through a high-level overview of the “So What?” test.
What is the “So What?” Test?
Being required to answer the “So What?” question is a means of evaluating the relevance and impact of your proposal/messaging to clients or prospective clients.
Answering this simple question demands clarity, purpose, and a focus on client outcomes – and helps move the narrative away from the product/service you are trying to sell.
If you are unable to answer this simple question convincingly, then your proposal almost certainly lacks relevance to the client and will not resonate with them.
Benefits of getting the right answer(s) to the “So What?” Test
Aligns your offer with the what the customer values
Asking the “So What?” question forces you to examine whether your solutions genuinely solve the customer’s problem(s). This alignment ensures you focus on outcomes that genuinely matter to your client.
Sharpens your messaging
In proposals and presentations, cluttered messaging dilutes impact. The “So What?” question helps eliminate unnecessary fluff and refines your message to its core purpose. Clear, concise messaging drives client engagement.
Helps build credibility
Proactively applying the “So What?” question puts you in the shoes of your client. You are able to anticipate their questions and build a solid case for your services/products. Demonstrating this level of critical thinking goes along way to establishing trust and credibility – it’s not about you, it’s about them!
Ultimately it saves you time!
Actively applying the “So What?” question acts as a filter to identify opportunities that are worth pursuing. If you can’t articulate why an initiative matters, it might not be worth the investment of time and resources pursuing that opportunity!
Bringing it all together…
The “So What?” test isn’t just a question – it’s a discipline. Asking the question allows you the opportunity to refine your message – to sharpen your focus, align your efforts, and ensure you’re solving the right problem, for the right person, with the right tools.
Incorporating the “So What?” test into your business development efforts will result in your business development activities becoming more impactful; your messaging more persuasive; and your win/loss ratio becoming more transformative!
As always, get in touch if you need help with your business development strategy and activities.
A huge part in the success of your business development efforts lies in what I like to call your: ‘Credibility Score‘.
So for my most recent BD Tips Wednesday post on LinkedIn, I walked through why credibility is so important to the success of your business development activities.
Below it a repeat of that post, but before we go there though, why is credibility an issue?
Information overload
The internet has resulted in information overload. We all have access to way too much information.
But ‘information‘ is not the same as ‘knowledge‘ – and professionals work (or should be working!) in a knowledge economy.
Which leads to a bigger problem from the client perspective: with so much information out there, how do I know who to trust?
QED: Credibility!
The ‘5’ Bs on building credibility with your clients
Be ahead of the pack
Industries change and so should your knowledge and skills. Keep up with the latest trends, technologies and practices in your field.
If you can show that you’re aware of new developments and can adapt your approach, you’ll be seen as a credible forward-thinking partner.
Be transparent
The starting point in any attempt to being credible is open and transparent communication.
Be honest about what you can and cannot do.
Talking up what you can do for a client and under-delivering on that talk damages your credibility. So keep it simple: Deliver on what you say you can deliver on!
Be reliable
The easiest way to building long-term credibility is by consistently delivering on your promises. Reliability and consistency in performance over time create a strong foundation of trust. Make sure you follow through on timelines, deliverables, and commitments.
If something goes pear-shape, take accountability for it and work to quickly resolve it!
Be honest
Always tell the truth, even when it’s difficult or uncomfortable. If you make a mistake, admit it. People respect honesty, and owning up to your shortcomings is an important way to build trust.
Also, always maintain ethical standards in your dealings with your clients.
Be committed
Focus on building relationships rather than simply making deals. The more you invest in your client relationships, the more credible and trustworthy you appear.
Regularly check in on your clients, even when you’re not pitching something new.
Being genuinely interested in your client’s long-term success will enhance your reputation as a credible partner.
—
As always, get in touch if you need help with your business development strategy and activities.
A recent article in the Global Legal Post by Ben Edwards: ‘Law firm marketing and business development teams spend more time firefighting than on strategy‘ threw up some very interesting – if not predictable – stats:
Two thirds (65%) of marketing and business development teams [in law firms] are spending more time firefighting then developing strategy
80% of that 65% spend at least 2/3rds of their working year extinguishing fires, over providing strategic thinking
Just over half (57%) have a seat at the head table [when it comes to strategy input]
69% of respondents said they spent most of their time on addressing short-term issues rather than focusing on long-term initiatives.
And the number #1 reason given for why law firm marketing and business development teams were running from one fire to another – a lack of investment in resources.
All of which leads me to ask this question:
Do law firm partners value the service they get from their business development and marketing teams?
Another way of putting that question is this:
Do law firm partners understand the strategic value that their business development and marketing teams can provide?
Because the evidence would suggest that they don’t.
By putting – let’s be frank – high paid personnel on firefighting tasks, your firm will not be getting good value for money.
So here are my 5 reasons why your business development team should be working with you on your firm’s strategy and not just putting fires out:
1. Industry focused
Most business development professionals are laser-focused on industry expertise. They understand a particular industry sector – such as energy, resources, financial services, FMCG, property – and by and large stay in their lanes. As such, many have a deeper understanding of what is happening in that industry sector than the partners they work with.
2. Market knowledge
Really good business developers are on top of market trends and competitor intelligence. They should be able to tell you what your competitors are up to, how your competitors are ranked in the market, which clients your competitors are acting for and the relevant lateral movement in your sector.
3. Relationship Building
A critical skill of good business development professionals is building relationships. They should be able to not only tell you who the General Counsel at client and target clients are, but also who the lead procurement team will be on a pursuit or tender opportunity.
4. Data analysts
A good business developer should be able to look at a set of data and provide you insights. For example: should you be worried if the number of instructions you are receiving is on the decrease, but the value per file is significantly increasing?
5. Results driven
Every good business development professional will tell you they are only as good as their last result! By nature, they are very results driven and don’t rest on their laurels.
So there you go, my 5 reasons why you need your business development team working with you on your next strategy day rather than just putting out fires!
Also, get in touch if you need help with any of the above.
Law firms that conduct formal client feedback programs can earn nearly twice the share of a client’s external legal spend than a firm not engaging in feedback;
in 2023, only 27% of clients were asked to participate in a client feedback program by their outside law firms.
Let’s get a realty check on that: Law firms that have a client experience (CX) feedback program can earn nearly twice the share of a client’s wallet, but less than one in three clients have been asked to participate in a client feedback program.
In business development we often talk about “low hanging fruit” and this seems like a ‘no brainer’ to me!
Get in touch if this is something that interests you. And, frankly, why should it not!
Ever wondered if there is a difference between ‘customer service’ and ‘customer experience’?
I was fortunate enough to come across this quote by Paul Roberts, CEO at My Customer Lens that, frankly, sums it up better than anyone else I have seen lately:
“It’s important to define the difference between customer service and customer experience. I like to define customer service as what you do, and customer experience is how you make people feel.”
Too often in professional services firms we concentrate on the ‘customer service’ at the expense of the ‘customer experience’; when the reality is that we should be much more focused on the customer experience than we are on the customer service.
As the article states:
“Improving the client experience is about looking at the entire client journey, from initial enquiry through to case completion, and beyond. It’s a rethink and review of every customer touchpoint throughout your organisation; from the way the phone is answered, to your hold music, reception waiting room and website home page.”
Spot on advice.
If you or your firm is struggling to get a grip with this, feel free to reach out to me for a chat.
As readers of this blog will hopefully have observed, I’m a very keen observer of up-and-coming developments in the legal industry. Frankly it’s my job to follow and understand emerging market developments and, particularly, how they may affect the way we serve our clients.
And so it was, with such a mindset, that almost two decades ago I came across a concept being touted as the next BIG thing: ‘unbundled legal services‘.
Along with ‘covenant lite loans‘ (this was pre-2008 after all), ‘unbundled legal services’ were going to transform and change the way we serviced our clients; particularly those sophisticated purchasers of legal services.
Then, just like that, ‘unbundled legal services’ went exactly…
…nowhere – never to be heard of again in polite conversation!
Return of the Jedi!
I’m here to tell you that, following a recent report by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) [England and Wales] – published on 15 June 2023, ‘unbundled legal services’ are back from the dead!
Before I go into what the SRA’s report says, and why it might be important, let’s take a helicopter look at what ‘unbundled legal services’ meant back in the early 2000s and what ‘unbundled legal services v2.0’ means today.
Unbundled legal services v1.0
From the outset ‘unbundled legal services’ were also known as ‘limited scope representation’, I think in part because this was the term more commonly used in the USA – although I’m happy to stand correct on that. Anyhow, at the name suggests, ‘limited scope representation’ means exactly that: your lawyer won’t do everything for you on your matter and it is up to you and your lawyer to divvy-up what they do and what you do.
For this reason ‘unbundled legal services’ were seen as being extremely sexy because you – the client – got to choose what your law firm did [and charged you for] and what you kept in-house. Even better, you – the client – now had the option to appoint subject matter experts for the “grey haired work” (as Maister would call it), but for more menial work you could appoint an LPO (anyone remember “Legal Process Outsourcing”?).
Such radically thinking could even lead to such a thing as ‘coopetition’ (as I have blogged on previously!).
But, despite the obvious benefits of growing headline revenue with ‘unbundled legal services’, I would hazard a guess that 20 years later less than 1% of most law firms’ revenue is derived from this product. Evidence of my thinking here is, I believe, substantiated by a recent article in the Law Society Gazette: ‘Unbundling? Never heard of it, say 40% of firms’ by John Hyde.
Unbundled legal services v2.0
So back to the SRA report and why unbundled legal services appears to be back in vogue.
While limited to “family law” issues, the SRA report includes two important comments:
The first, more a definition, is: “Unbundling describes the process of dividing tasks in a service between the consumer and provider. This can, among other things, make them more affordable and accessible.” and
the second, going to the crux of the issue: “Solicitors providing ‘unbundled’ services could make legal help affordable for those whom it is currently too expensive“.
QED, a possible solution to the Access to Justice (A2J) issue?
While I think both of those comments are correct, I want to quickly pause and cover a few of the other comments made in the Report. These include:
We found that unbundling does have the potential to increase access to justice as it makes some legal services more affordable.
Law firms could attract more clients as those clients knew they could in fact afford an unbundled deal.
There are low levels of awareness of what unbundling is and how widely available it is, even though a number of providers already offer this.
All of which, in my experience, are true in the broader aspects of unbundling.
To finish up..
To finish up I’m going to use the SRA’s own wording in the Report; which is that the unbundling of legal services comes with complications that include:
We found no significant difference in the level of satisfaction between consumers who used unbundled legal services and those who used an end-to-end service.
Some consumers also wanted to have more control over their case.
Some [law firm] providers would like to expand what they do but there are concerns around the impact on firms’ insurance premiums and the possibility of legal action if things go wrong which they were not responsible for.
Let’s not beat about the bush: Points 1 and 2 are relatively damning; but it is that last point where, in my opinion, unbundled legal services have died the death of a million cuts: while most firms and lawyers would consider offering this service, most insurers of professional indemnity [PI] insurance have no ideal of what it is or how to price the risk.
The last point is especially the case given the fact that most law firms have no real understanding of how to provide a letter of engagement to their clients with clearly defined scopes of services that don’t include a million assumptions and caveats or: “it depends” clauses.
Anyhow, setting aside all of the above, I continue to hope we will see a growth in ‘unbundled legal services’ while remaining sceptical it’ll happen.
If you need some help with how you can use unbundled legal services to successfully differentiate your firm’s offering, feel free to reach out to me for a chat.
Many of us in Business Development who work in this market day-in, day-out believe that it is.
Evidence we often provide to back this claim up includes:
The sheer number of panel appointments: both at Government (Commonwealth, State and Local Council) and private sector (nearly every ASX100 company is now panelled), means we are tendering year round.
If we are not tendering for panels, then we are tendering for projects and sub-panels. Most major law firms in Australia will be doing 250+ tenders a year!
Client fluidity. Tenders are one part of this, but client movement among firms is increasing. The stickiness we used to see is no longer there and, frankly, it is getting harder and harder to keep clients in this market. We need to be on top of our game, ALL THE TIME!
Law firm consolidation: we have seen a fair amount of this in the past 10 years. Anyone remember HDY, Herbert Geer, Dibbs Barker, Kemp Strang? These days, when it rains, I can play a game of “spot the law firm umbrella that has outlasted the law firm“!
But perhaps one of the biggest signs of how competitive the market is here is the sheer number of partner lateral movement we see each year. I’m sure other markets, such as the US, have higher numbers of actual lateral partner movement; but, I suspect pro rata number of partners, Australia would be in the top 2 or 3 in this field.
So those of us who live and work in Business Development in Oz can put our hands up and say: “We live and work in one of the world’s most competitive markets”, where brand differentiation is difficult, and almost everyone relies on innovation and technology to set themselves apart from the pack.
If all above is true: What can we do about it?
Well, not a lot actually.
But, and here is the good news, over the weekend I read a blog post by Seth Godin which gave me hope that, actually, it doesn’t really matter.
In ‘Too much competition‘ Seth states something so profoundly obvious I have to wonder why I have cared about how competitive our market is for so long.
So what is that Seth said?
Focus on the customer
Here you go:
Focus on the customers who care enough about your idiosyncratic and particular offerings that they’ll not only happily walk away from the lesser alternatives, but they’ll tell the others.
Simple really!
Only it’s not. So if you need some help with how to successfully differentiate your firm in tenders, feel free to reach out to me for a chat.
An article by Neil Rose on Legal Futures website today (15.5.2023) has a statistics that should have every law firm business development expert shaking in their boots.
To quote:
45% of clients changing which practices they allocate work to in the past year
Taken from the latest ‘State of the UK Legal Market 2023‘ by Thomson Reuters, Rose’s report contains even more damning news for those marketers and business developers who thought law firms outranked lawyers in client choice selection:
Reputation has also dropped “dramatically” in importance for keeping a firm top-of-mind
On the positive front,
In the UK, more than in many other regions of the world, clients are focusing on the quality of the whole relationship with their advisers.
But, backing up the reputation comment above, the big takeaway for me has to be,
In a major shift over the past 10 years, the historical reputation of a law firm is no longer enough to keep it top-of-mind in the market. The message is clear: firms need to re-consider how they present and deliver value to clients…
I have deliberately bolded that part of the quote because if this is something that is likely to be concerning you, or if you feel this provides your law firm with a great opportunity, then feel free to reach out to me and let’s have a chat about how you can to work on this!
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