Law firms keep refining their top business professional roles with a shift towards enabling firm growth.

The titles vary (Chief of Staff, Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Growth Officer or Chief Transformation Officer), but the goal is the same: drive the strategies behind expansion, market position, and firm priorities.

As I work with law firms to fill these roles, here is what they are asking candidates to do:

Expand and protect the firm’s footprint. Firms are looking to these leaders to own growth and retention strategies across new markets, practices, and client segments.

Drive go-to-market strategy. Think big picture, define the vision, and translate the strategic plan into actionable steps across operations and practices. Just as important: build the strategy, socialize it, and carry it through to execution.

Oversee business functions without managing them. This spans marketing and business development, pricing, professional development, finance, operations, and IT. The leader will identify needs, cross-pollinate services, and track results without being the boss of any one discipline or getting pulled into the daily tactics.

Understand technology. The tools law firms rely on to stay competitive are increasingly sophisticated and expensive. Top business leaders need to help identify the right technology, drive adoption, and foster user buy-in through the roll-out.

Report to the top. These roles sit at the executive level, often reporting to the COO, CEO, Managing Partner, and/or Executive Committee. Communicating clearly, advocating well, and reporting strategically is a mission-critical skill.

It is an exciting time to be a law firm business professional. More firms are moving toward a business-minded model to mirror their increasingly sophisticated clients. To that end, they are hiring top business leaders and extending real influence to them with the goal of making measurable impacts on the bottom line. 

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