Publications | How not to win business: a guide for professionals

The following are some of my recent publications. Please click the links to read more:-

A slightly tongue-in-cheek new series in The Journal of The Law Society of Scotland:-

The Word of Gold: The Journal

Must try ardour (October 2019) the best houses may be detached, but not the best relationships
The cost of peace at any price(September 2019) when we face up to conflict and handle it well, the result is a stronger business. Why, in that case, are we are so tempted to avoid it?
Resilience: your flexible friend (August 2019) the defining quality of all great leaders is their ability to cope well with adversity
A future at 70 (July 2019) As the Society celebrates 70 years, so much has changed, and yet so much hasn’t
Morally bankrupt? (May 2019) The leaders of failed law firms have made serious mistakes, but suggesting they are also immoral is unreasonable.
Love my tender (April 2019) In the battle to win work, knowing human nature is more important than knowing the law.
At the boundary's edge (March 2019) Tim Marshall’s bestseller, Prisoners of Geography, looks at how countries’ foreign policy is shaped profoundly by their physical landscape.
Rainmaking: a team game (February 2019) There is a direct link between lawyers’ fear of failure and their general ineptitude at selling themselves.
Turn on the black box (January 2019) A couple of months ago in this column I discussed the parallels between practising medicine and practising law.
A Blurred Vision (December 2018) It is a pity that Esther Roberton’s review of Scottish legal regulation is so long on assertions, and short on solutions.
The Quest for Innovation (November 2018): Innovation is nothing new, but it’s never been more important
Clients, care, competence and... cancer (October 2018): The world of medicine has much to teach lawyers about running healthy practices.
Time to take aim at targets (May 2018): Pursuing the wrong goals risks a heavy penalty
A profit without honour (April 2018): Nothing is more expensive than having the wrong values.
This time it's personal (March 2018): Be yourself - that's what the clients are buying.
The kindest cut (February 2018): Saving expense sounds less exciting than boosting turnover, but done well, there’s nothing dull about its effect on profits
Happy new year? (January 2018): Happiness is an elusive concept, but there are proven ways of bringing it closer
Scaling the depths (December 2017): A plea for the return of scale fees is wrong and doomed, but it raises an important question
Too hard a drive? (November 2017): A new survey finds that timidity towards technology is keeping firms in the slow lane
Thinking of getting engaged? (September 2017): In every business, the best ideas are often to be found in the most unexpected places
Analyse this (August 2017): A survey of Big Law just published across the Pond has valuable lessons for everyone.
May: the force be not with you (July 2017): The Prime Minister’s conduct of the general election can teach us much about what great leadership really means
What's the measure of a ruler? (June 2017): A study from across the Pond gives fresh insights into what separates the best leaders from the rest
Love me, love me not? (May 2017): New research challenges top law firms’ assumptions about the state of their client relationships – but do its own conclusions go far enough? do its own conclusions go far enough?
I think you would like this (April 2017): Just giving may be the most powerful business strategy of all
Just your luck? (March 2017): We all need luck, but is it just a matter of chance?
The art of bringing the good news (February 2017): Keeping the bull out of bulletins is a trick worth practising.
Paying homage to King Cash (January 2017): For firms to be solid, they must first be liquid.
Everything comes... (December 2016): To win work consistently, patience is not just a virtue, but a necessity.
Appraising: what’s your score? (November 2016): Giving marks out of 10, how well do you review others?
Better together? (October 2016): 10 tips to keep a sure footing when entering the unknown with a merger.
To the focused, the medals (September 2016): Law firm leaders have much to learn from the stars of Rio, and those who made them shine
The power of culture (August 2016): Sustained success is never an accident, but underpinned by a great culture
To boldy go... (July 2016): The power of positive thinking may be a cliché, but it’s also a fact
Lost Horizons? (June 2016): It’s easy to go from inundated to invisible.
Success is in store (May 2016): The shelves of a different kind of partnership are full of lessons for law firms.
The Literal Truth (Apr 2016): Graduates who can’t speak and write English proper face a life sentence, even if the culture has passed in which having such skills was non-negotiable.
Doing the business (March 2016): However brilliant the work, there is little honour in being without profit.
Through the client’s eyes (Feb 2016): How to engage with clients in order to develop your understanding of what great legal service looks like.
The rocky road to good intentions (Jan 2016): How to make those new year (or any other) resolutions stick.
Mentoring: the neighbour principle (Dec 2015): Law firms who invest in mentoring are not only doing their people good, but doing good business too.
A lawyer’s lament (Nov 2015): Whatever the size of your firm, good scoping of client work is fundamental to profit.
The day of minimis is here (Oct 2015): More for less? It’s yesterday’s challenge.
Thanks, but no thanks (Sept 2015): There has never been a business with a successful strategy that hasn’t known when to say no.
Your price – what’s on the menu? (17 August 2015): “Firms with the confidence and discipline to offer clients real choice in how they pay will reap rich rewards” Read more…
Litigators in a fix? (13 July 2015): “Profitable, fixed-fee litigation? It’s not out of court” Read more…
“My time is valuable!” Oh really? (15 June 2015): “Clients don’t place value on time spent, so why do solicitors charge that way?” Read more…
A man for all reasons (18 May 2015): “A model of dignity and respect could be seen in one of the speakers at the Commonwealth Law Conference” Read more…
Bottom line, the accountants are coming (16 April 2015): “The Big Four’s growing presence in legal services adds up to a major threat to law firms” Read more…
ABS: time to accept the evidence (16 March 2015): “There can only be one answer to the question whether to endorse non-lawyer ownership of law firms” Read more…
Sweet smell of added value (16 February 2015): “Struggling to give true added value? In my latest Opinion article in The Journal of The Law Society of Scotland, I look at the essentials, where good advice can be found” Read more…
Head & shoulders above: It’s visible experts who see off the competition (19 January 2015): “In this piece, I focus on how we establish authority. How do professionals become…visible experts?” Read more…
A strategy with legs? (15 December 2014): “A stocking filler for law firm leaders on the theme of defining your market”. Read more…
The right kind of risk (17 November 2014): “In search of the right strategy? Embrace your inner risk taker.”. Read more…
When life begins at 60 (27 October 2014): “Leonard Cohen and Tesco have much to teach us about later life and Lawyers.”. Read more…
Across borders: The Journal of The Law Society of Scotland (18 August 2014): “It is neither a failure nor a betrayal for a Scottish law firm to choose to merge with a larger practice from elsewhere.”. Read more…
Law firm pricing: Where bullocks fear to roam, The Journal of The Law Society of Scotland (14 July 2014): “pricing issues inevitably raise more fundamental questions of how a business is structured”. Read more…
Law: an insight job, The Journal of The Law Society of Scotland (16 June 2014): “it’s fine to be a specialist, but don’t ignore the world beyond”. Read more…
Healthy discord: successful firms ascend through dissent, The Journal of The Law Society of Scotland (19 May 2014): “[t]here is good evidence that collegiality is overrated in business, and that on the contrary, encouraging dissent is far more valuable.”. Read more…
Gongs, Dinners and Just Deserts, The Journal of The Law Society of Scotland (14 April 2014): “With stress such a major factor for practising lawyers, all firms should have a published policy encouraging people to ask for support”. Read more…
The Law – It’s Just Mental, The Journal of The Law Society of Scotland (17 March 2014): “Contrary to last month’s Opinion article, legal awards have value, and winning one can bring real benefits to a firm”. Read more…
Opinion column in The Journal of The Law S*9m ociety of Scotland (14 October 2013): “There is a future for the high street solicitors’ firm, but it will look very different from the present, and will require an entrepreneurial spirit combined with the best of new practice”. Read more…