The most valuable contribution a legal entrepreneur can make to the legal industry is to share founder stories, especially mistakes and lessons learned. Another value-add is to publicly state, “this is our strategy,” so the entire market can learn what works and what doesn’t. On today’s Legal Evolution, Liam Brown, the Founder and Executive Chairman of Elevate Services, delivers on both counts.
In Post 088, Liam explains Elevate’s recent acquisition of five NewLaw and legaltech companies. Rather than the bravado we typically associate with chief executives, Liam lays out his reasoning with clear-eyed realism regarding what it’s going to take to successfully compete in a market that increasingly favors brand names, excellent client service, and tech-enabled solutions where value can be measured and quantified (read: the Big Four). You’ll learn Elevate’s current strategy, including the imperative of growing now while also resisting a capital structure that would cause the founders to lose control.
Yet, the most interesting part of Liam’s post is his willingness to share unflattering internal statistics–actual screenshots–on customer satisfaction and employee happiness. Liam diagnoses these stats as serious growing pains that, if all goes well, will be substantially cured by the successful integration of the five new companies. This is Liam Brown, serial legal founder and entrepreneur, naked for all the legal world to see.
Although this takes courage, it’s also a straightforward business decision. If Liam is right, he’ll double or triple his leadership capital with clients, employees and competitors. Welcome to the legal services market, circa 2019.