In an era of rapid legal and technological transformation, Philip Colman has emphasised that law firms willing to adapt, embrace innovation, and seize emerging opportunities are the ones most likely to thrive and stay ahead in the competitive legal landscape of the coming years.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, Philip Colman, MST special counsel and former principal, highlighted that law firms willing to adapt and seize new opportunities are the ones best positioned to thrive in the rapidly evolving legal landscape of the coming years.
In the same episode, he explained that one of the most important lessons he has learnt as a leader is that prioritising and genuinely caring for your people is essential to both individual and organisational success.
Colman shared that long-term success relies not only on strong financial performance but also on a firm’s ability to evolve with the market and adapt to the changes reshaping the legal profession.
“It comes down to what the definition of success really is. I think in any business, the definition of success has to include some financial element. If you’re not making money, there’s no point being in business,” he said.
“The good firms are going to adapt to the changes.”
Firms that embrace change, pivot into emerging practice areas, and invest in their people, Colman expressed, are the ones best positioned for long-term growth and success.
“They’re going to be perhaps getting out of the areas that may disappear and looking for new areas and promoting themselves in those areas,” he said.
Citing an example of one of his fellow partners, Colman demonstrated how taking the initiative to learn a new area of law and expand one’s skill set can be a powerful way to build a successful and influential career.
“One of my former partners, now a partner at MST, in the old days we didn’t do employment law, and when he joined the firm, he was told that if you really want to get anywhere in this place, you’ve got to learn to generate new and different work for the firm,” he said.
“He chose to learn a little bit about employment law; now, he runs probably our most, one of our most successful teams in the firm and has been doing so for 30-plus years.”
But Colman emphasised that success in law isn’t solely about adapting to change – it also demands delivering genuine client service that goes far beyond completing tasks and sending bills.
“In terms of sense of service for clients, it’s not just a matter of receiving instructions, doing the job, sending a bill and getting paid,” he said.
“You need to understand their businesses, you need to go and visit them, you need to be constantly doing that with as many clients as you can in terms of sense of service to the profession.”
