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Good leadership puts people first

01 September 2017
Issue: 7759 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Jonathan Wheeler on why strong people management skills bring business success

  • Leadership is about working through other people.
  • Partners are often not given management training.
  • Successful firms understand the importance of soft skills to business success.

Law firms have for many years buried their heads in the sand when it comes to the importance of the leadership skillset and the key role this plays in the success of any firm. Historically, the legal sector was famous for lagging behind others in recognising management as a distinct discipline in itself, instead appointing people to top roles merely as a badge of seniority, or a reward for long service or track-record of stellar personal performance (and billing). However, star performers are not always the best managers and leaders.

In fact, the converse is often true: as the old adage goes, ‘charismatics can suck the oxygen out of the room leaving none for others to breathe’. So while star performers are obviously good news for the business when the main focus is on their own performance,

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
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