What does it mean to be a trusted advisor today?

The near mystical concept of a ‘trusted advisor’ is centuries old. For as long as anyone can remember, developing and maintaining trust with a client has been an aspiration for lawyers who hope to build deep relationships with the people and organisations they serve.

Globalisation and rapid technology adoption are changing people’s expectations of client delivery and speed of service. It feels as though every aspect of society is becoming more complex and interconnected. In recent years, growing complexity in the demands on legal teams has led to other ‘business of law’ professionals operating in client facing roles alongside, and sometimes in the place of, lawyers. Conversely, there appears to be a greater acceptance that lawyers can make a valuable contribution in areas where they have not traditionally advised, including in more strategic advisory roles.

The in-house legal community were at the vanguard of this change. Many forward-thinking General Counsel saw the benefits of bolstering the variety of skills within their teams. They have hired individuals who are skilled business specialists, capable of managing the many complex matters that sit adjacent to traditional legal work. These roles tend to be classed as ‘legal operations’ positions but the market is evolving to also include engineers, designers, technologists, consultants, data scientists, change managers, project managers and others.

Our recent Next Gen Solutions Index survey of General Counsel supports these observations. When we asked, “In what way, if any, has the make-up of your legal team changed the most over the last 2 years?” the most emphatic response by over 30% of General Counsel surveyed was “Growth through addition of multi-disciplinary skills such as legal operations and procurement”.

We also found that two thirds of General Counsel identify the importance of flexible resourcing to their operational success and value is increasingly recognised outside of the ‘traditional professions’. 65% of General Counsel surveyed said that “legal advisors can make a valuable contribution in areas such as data strategy, increasing to three quarters of GC’s with the Financial and Asset Management sectors”.

People with diverse professional skills are now also working in fee earning roles within law firms, alongside lawyers - often within multi-disciplinary client matter delivery teams or working directly with clients (instead of a lawyer, as may have been the case in the past) or as the lead engagement person with lawyers in support. Equally, lawyers in private practice that work with businesses are engaging more with client teams comprised of mixed business professionals and are finding opportunities to advise them on a broader range of business topics.

This ‘cross pollination’ trend has led to an evolution in the traditional concept of a trusted advisor in the legal sector. In some circumstances, trusted advisor relationships now exist between clients and other ‘business of law’ professionals who aren’t lawyers, and also between lawyers and clients in areas where lawyers did not traditionally advise. Our survey suggests these trends are percolating through the legal services sector. Leaders in the sector need to ensure that people with the right skills are empowered to act in their clients’ best interests.

Maister, Green and Galford co-authored their acclaimed book, The Trusted Advisor, over 20 years ago. Its central themes around how to earn the trust and confidence of clients, including the relationship between trust and successful advice-giving and the way it can be nurtured in a relationship seems to be more relevant than ever as the roles of everyone in the legal sector become more diverse and pervasive.

Simmons continues to evolve its response to developments in the legal sector and wider society. We strive to ensure that our practice is positioned to solve complex legal and business challenges by deploying multi-disciplinary teams alongside our world class lawyers.  Find out more about our approach.

Author: Partner and CEO of Wavelength, Peter Lee.