Following a decade’s service in a 'traditional' law firm and thousands of conversations with customers (literally!), Matt McCormick has learned a few things. Aside from a great base of professional skills (which we can bore you with here) Matt realised:
It became clear to Matt that, by focusing on real partnerships, law could be done better. Passionate about this, Matt directed his energy towards taking a customer-centric approach to legal services where he was prepared to share risk and offer truly customer-aligned pricing.
Matt built into his process early collaboration with his clients on a case-by-case basis, where the strategy for and value of legal work (rather than just the time it would 'likely' take), was jointly agreed. After receiving lots of feedback that the budgetary certainty and collaborative approach was refreshing, Matt looked to implement this approach beyond his own client base.
As part owner in a traditional firm at the time, Matt set about convincing his peers that clients deserved more than bills for minutes, stamps and phone calls. Matt soon discovered that, as with many ’old’ industries, law is rife with resistance to new things and his customer-centric approach was certainly seen as a ‘new thing’ by some of his more traditional peers.
Not prepared to let go of his vision, Matt decided to escape from the constraints of the traditional firms and build a firm from the ground up. A firm free of the shackles of traditional thinking. And so, McCormicks was formed.
Not long after this, Matt connected with two other like-minded professionals who ‘got that vision thing’ and wanted to help him build the business. They brought with them expertise in general management, marketing, business development and customer engagement.
McCormicks after only a short period of time, boasts a very loyal customer base focusing on key industries and areas of specialty. Three years down the road what has appeared is, the premier full service creative industries practice with global and national clients and networks, and a commercial practice that is offering real options to SME's and individuals who were tired of a standard firms traditional approach to law or not being treated with equality at the larger firms.
Where to for the next 3 years? "We will keep doing what we are doing and refining our offering, but I will be damned if go back to having lots of staff again, I'm loving this small boutique firm way of working" - says Matt.
- There’s a big gap between what law firm clients want and what they typically get, and;
- The law industry operates under old assumptions which don't deliver value for clients.
It became clear to Matt that, by focusing on real partnerships, law could be done better. Passionate about this, Matt directed his energy towards taking a customer-centric approach to legal services where he was prepared to share risk and offer truly customer-aligned pricing.
Matt built into his process early collaboration with his clients on a case-by-case basis, where the strategy for and value of legal work (rather than just the time it would 'likely' take), was jointly agreed. After receiving lots of feedback that the budgetary certainty and collaborative approach was refreshing, Matt looked to implement this approach beyond his own client base.
As part owner in a traditional firm at the time, Matt set about convincing his peers that clients deserved more than bills for minutes, stamps and phone calls. Matt soon discovered that, as with many ’old’ industries, law is rife with resistance to new things and his customer-centric approach was certainly seen as a ‘new thing’ by some of his more traditional peers.
Not prepared to let go of his vision, Matt decided to escape from the constraints of the traditional firms and build a firm from the ground up. A firm free of the shackles of traditional thinking. And so, McCormicks was formed.
Not long after this, Matt connected with two other like-minded professionals who ‘got that vision thing’ and wanted to help him build the business. They brought with them expertise in general management, marketing, business development and customer engagement.
McCormicks after only a short period of time, boasts a very loyal customer base focusing on key industries and areas of specialty. Three years down the road what has appeared is, the premier full service creative industries practice with global and national clients and networks, and a commercial practice that is offering real options to SME's and individuals who were tired of a standard firms traditional approach to law or not being treated with equality at the larger firms.
Where to for the next 3 years? "We will keep doing what we are doing and refining our offering, but I will be damned if go back to having lots of staff again, I'm loving this small boutique firm way of working" - says Matt.