Applying the Economics of Mutuality to the Legal Profession

Published May 2020

Leigh Vickery, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at Level 2 Legal Solutions recently wrote a fascinating article about the impact the Economics of Mutuality might have on the legal profession.

She was inspired by a panel discussion on the Economics of Mutuality held in Houston, Texas with Chatham Financial CEO, Michael Bontrager, Regent College Professor and author of Visions of Vocation, Steve Garber, and the Economics of Mutuality’s Chief Advocacy Officer, Jay Jakub.

An extract from Leigh’s guest post entitled ‘We Need a Legal Revolution, Not Reformation’ on the Law Sites blog has been included below.

…Working in partnership with the University of Oxford Saïd Business School, and more recently the China Europe International Business School, the Economics of Mutuality is now a proven methodology, with a more complete model of value creation.

With new performance metrics, new management practices, and new modes of profit construction, the Economics of Mutuality has not only helped businesses grow faster, more profitable, and responsibly, it has also demonstrated that organizations following this model rebuild society’s trust in them. And all of it is quantifiable.

It goes without saying that the Economics of Mutuality will only be successful in a law firm if the stakeholders and shareholders all buy in to the business model.

The first step is to recognize and agree that a law firm’s long-term success requires recognition of the value of multiple forms of capital: financial, human, social, and environmental.

The second step is to agree that this new way of thinking requires long-term strategy, commitment, and investment – and will require more capital outlay in the short term.

The third step is to start implementing the Economics of Mutuality methodology, a quantitative business model that uses proven measurable KPIs to help law firms create mutual value across their entire legal supply chain – while not sacrificing profit in the long term…