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opinion remembering?). Also, it tends to still be referenced when it is outdated, while its accuracy does not improve with age. Yet in comparison to other profes- sions, the legal market is becoming quite transparent and law firms are in the driver's seat to bring about that change. Compared to accountants or manage- ment consultants, for example, some legal markets have a substantial amount of available competitive intelligence. While the English undoubtedly lead the way in terms of extensive media cover- age, the U.S. legal market offers more in-depth and focused information. The Canadian market is less advanced, but comparable to the legal markets of oth- er large economies. Important and reliable sources of competitive intelligence are the detailed benchmarking surveys that are con- ducted on a wide variety of performance metrics. While participating firms will not see each others' data, they can com- pare their own results line item by line item with the consolidated quartile and average breakdowns of participating firms. In Canada, KPMG and Redwood Analytics perform the two best-known benchmarking surveys. As a result, firms are able to identify areas of com- petitive advantage (best in class in, say, billing and collection speed) or those in need of improvement (e.g. produc- tivity or staff-to-lawyer ratios at below average). The information can serve as hard data that partners and staff accept and which can become the basis for management decisions and subsequent implementation processes. Beyond the benchmarking surveys, the media provides more sources of competitive intelligence through finan- cial performance rankings (e.g. the Am Law 100 or the A-List by American Law- yer; there is no Canadian equivalent to date) and surveys on various topics such then dig deep for the desired insights. • Attitude: The more professionals keen to learn of ways of outperforming the competition, the more valuable infor- mation will become available. Most people regard the legal sector as a relatively obscure market, in which obtaining competitive intelligence can seem daunting. This stems from the nature of its business and the way it is organized. as associate satisfaction, client service, etc. Web sites and blogs dedicated to the industry add further insights. On topics that require a broader analytical context, some firms engage consultants and researchers to conduct studies, including other firms willing to participate and share results — often on a no-attribution basis. At the same time, firm leaders and management staff use industry events, such as roundtables, breakfast briefings, and conferences, to discuss current challenges and compare notes on past experiences. While each source may only contrib- DD CL GRLBBI Generic bw 12/3/07 5:00 PM Page 1 ute one piece of the puzzle, good com- petitive intelligence practice thrives un- der three conditions: • Focus: Rather than trying to find out a little on a wide range of topics, effective firms define their need precisely and your ONE source supplier W C e offer the most comprehensive and unique combination of office supplies and services including: 20,000+ Office & Furniture Products, 1,000+ Corporate Promotional Products, 300+ Printing & Graphic Services, 100+ Law Office Essentials, 500+ Corporate Supplies and 500+ Search & Registration Services OFFICE & FURNITURE PRODUCTS • Understanding: Unless a firm knows itself, it will not be able to gather much meaningful intelligence from competitors. Given the mobility of many profes- sionals in practice as well as manage- ment, some firms have gained consid- erable competitive intelligence by simply hiring stellar performers from the competition. After all, the most valuable competitive intelligence is tacit and tied to the people who created or experienced them. Friedrich Blase (Friedrich.Blase@ KermaPartners.com) is a senior consul- tant at Kerma Partners. He primarily advises law firms in transformation projects for organizational structures, management systems, intellectual capital development, and compensation schemes. dyedurham.ca • 1-888-393-3874 • Fax: 1-800-263-2772 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com JANU AR Y 2008 33 W e ' r e a y C a n a p d i m a n o a n