Nikki Newton’s Post

Selling culture transformation to law firms can feel like convincing Americans that using roundabouts is a good idea. 😁 It's often met with skepticism. I get it. 👀 Culture feels intangible. There’s tight budgets. It’s not a priority to invest. But here’s the thing— Having a solid culture means: 1️⃣ Attracting and Retaining Top Talent Talent turnover costs more than just time money— and that can be significant. It's about losing knowledge and momentum. A strong culture isn't just a perk; it's a magnet for keeping your stars and serving your clients effectively. 2️⃣ Fostering Innovation Creative cultures don’t just solve problems; they anticipate them. This leads to breakthrough solutions, heightened client service, and ultimately, client loyalty. 3️⃣ Enhancing Reputation and Reducing Risks Look at Kyte Baby this week and the fall out from their CEO denying leave to a parent with a child in the NICU. The cost of a culture goes beyond finances; it hits your reputation hard. So, why wait to act? At Level7 Legal we offer: - Customized consultations to understand you and your firm's needs. - Team Energy Assessments to pinpoint your current and potential dynamics. - Signature Workshops that build trust and set the foundation for a resilient, positive culture. Openings available for new legal teams in February and March. Let's elevate your firm's culture from a background thought to its driving force. #legalteam #legal #lawfirm #coaching

𝘿𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙤𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝. Whilst it's often very hard to get stellar partners to move from one top tier shop to another, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton in London aimed high in the last year and struck gold. And the same in every market globally. Paul Hastings snagged a 6 partner IP team from Allen & Overy in the US back in March, and last year one of the biggest names in Australian restructuring was poached from Clayton Utz by White & Case LLP. So what's the message here? Aim high in your lateral partner hiring goals and make the approach with a strong proposition supported by a well thought through strategy for the new team. Don't assume that partner X will never leave. You are never privy to the whole picture and what's really going on. Get the right partner at the right time and you might just get lucky and hit on a time when your next strategic big target hire has a push factor. Combine that with an attractive pull proposition and you might just have a winning formula. Aim high, think big. Need assistance with your next partner search? Here are the people in our global team to reach out to: Australasia: Jonathan Walmsley , Daniel Hogan , Ben Smith US: Nick Welsh, Bridget McCarthy, David Nicol, Anita Taylor London: Anita Taylor, Jonathan Marsden , Tim Andrews , Michelle Mills Europe: Nick Paleocrassas, Steve Salem, Máiréad Cremins Middle East: Sonia Patel, Aaron Faith Global : Jonathan Marsden New Clients: Ann-Marie Goodbody

"Is it too late to make a lateral move?" I've been speaking with several senior associates (5th-8th years) who want to change firms, but fear it will extend their timeline to partnership. This might be true – laterals generally have a 2 year runway before they are partner eligible at their new firms – but it's important to consider this against the grand scheme of your career. When thinking about where you're going to make partner, consider: 1️⃣ Is there a seat for you at the table? 2️⃣ What does your path forward look like once you make partner? Do the expectations (billable hour & BD requirements) align with the type of practice you're looking to build? 3️⃣ Will you be able to work with the types of clients and do the type of work you enjoy? When you look at the bigger picture of your career delaying partnership by 1-2 years is less important than being at the right platform where you're going to be able to build the practice you want.

I am thrilled to announce that I’ve formalized my company, NewEdge BD, LLC, a solutions focused business development consultancy for law firms specializing in collaborative cross-practice solutions, including merger and lateral integrations. As many of you know, I started out helping friends and colleagues with the classic challenges of lateral integration--limited time, lack of business development support, practice silos, and internal competition, are among the too common obstacles. To address these barriers, I created "Growth Factor" a program that fast-tracks integration, promotes collaboration, and curtails billable lawyer time investments. As work expanded into other areas of business development that I am passionate about, I decided to create NewEdge BD to offer all of the support firms need to align their business development resources with their strategic priorities. We’ve been able to help firms with discrete projects, such as profile building for one team, as well as with larger initiatives, such as advising on industry team platform objectives, infrastructure, leadership and reporting. In all of our work, we train a laser focus on our clients’ strategic priorities and maintain an unwavering commitment to their success. We bring a fresh perspective, see solutions in our clients’ people, processes, and technologies where others have not, and we excite progress. Please follow us on LinkedIn at NewEdge BD and visit us at www.NewEdgeBD.com to learn more about our services. I am grateful for the support and collaboration of many friends and colleagues who specialize in complimentary disciplines, and in particular Erika Steinberg, President, CMO2Go,Inc., CMO and marketing services, and Joshua Peck, Owner, Joshua M. Peck Legal Communications and author of 11 Random Thoughts From My First (Gulp) 30 Years of Legal PR, as published in The Legal Intelligencer and posted on Josh’s LinkedIn. #Business Development #Strategic Planning #Lateral Integration

How to choose the right corporate impact partners: 1) Understand exactly why you’re partnering.  Be unshakably rigorous on your partner selection criteria. Deepen your research into potential partners. Have the tactful conversations needed to set up, operate and (eventually) wind down a partnership. 2) Be prepared for positive outcomes to end a partnership.  Make sure you’re prepared for how you’ll wrap up if your partnership’s run its course; delivered what it was supposed to; worked! 3) Co-design with humility — and evaluation built in.  Know what you can’t offer, and need from your impact partner, to effectively pool resources. Make sure proper measurement and evaluation sit at every impact initiative’s core. Partnerships will always take time and effort, but upfront diligence enables efficiency and effectiveness once you’re in motion.

The Harvard Business Review, Intapp, and DCM Insights hit the nail on the head with this article and the underlying study. The article features Baker McKenzie, which provides a master class in encouraging collaboration and cross-selling throughout their firm. The firm requires that in their year-end review, partners list: ". . . specific instances in which they’ve successfully collaborated with colleagues—by, for example, introducing other partners with different areas of expertise to their clients . . . Because the partners know they will be asked to provide examples of collaboration in their year-end memos, they have an incentive to work with other lawyers across the firm throughout the year." The result? A 40% revenue increase within 6 years of switching to this collaborative approach 💰 📈 If only there was a solution out there that could help other firms replicate these results 🤔 Propense.ai #AmLaw #HBR #accounting #lawfirm #ai https://lnkd.in/guADMhaX

“There's a fundamental question that comes up every time I speak with fellow GCs about career trajectory: Are we lawyers? Or business executives who run legal?” This week on The L Suite blog, Adam Lichstein, General Counsel at SeatGeek, shares insight into how GCs can expand their influence and become strategic executives as their companies grow. Kim Wilford, J.D., Chief Legal Officer at GoFundMe and Adam W., Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Primer.ai, provide additional perspectives and compelling examples from their own careers. Some key takeaways… ✔ Start by developing a deep understanding of your company’s operations ✔ Take regular inventory of your strengths and areas for growth ✔ Be ready to take on responsibilities beyond the traditional legal sphere ✔ Building a high-performing team is a way to both build and highlight your skill as a leader — and that can extend to other areas of the organization Lots more great stuff in the article, so read it now or bookmark it for later: https://lnkd.in/gnc-yfM4

3 key thoughts on corporate impact partnerships: 1) If you can deliver your company’s purpose alone, it may not be ambitious enough. Don’t let the motivation to create short-term positive impact distract from ensuring partnerships’ longevity and legitimacy. 2) Serious budgets drive longevity. Multi-year planning and budgets evolve your impact conversations beyond year-on-year corporate norms, creating contexts for long-term initiatives to take off. 3) Avoid the ostrich. Instead, minimise risk and maximise opportunities. No heads in the sand — deep, objective understanding of your firm’s broader impact is essential to move beyond the quick-win, symptomatic level and make meaningful change. Keen to discuss more? Send me a DM – I love talking about this stuff :)

Food for thought this Friday… I hate the term ‘referral partners’. I know it’s a networking favourite, but hear me out. I don’t think "referral partners" encapsulates the value and impact businesses can have on each other when collaborating; when there is a real synergy between them. What do you think? I’m sure you’ve met business owners and businesses you just ‘click’ with - this is what I’m talking about. You align with their services, their target audiences, their business ethics, their approach - working together means you and your businesses both become greater for it. So, here’s a bit about who I love working with - if you think we could be good synergy partners, pop me a DM! #referralpartners #synergypartners #synergyinbusiness #foxgraphics #followthefox