Success in a Complex World: Three Roles of Lawyers

The world is becoming more complex in two ways: both the pace and magnitude of change are constantly increasing. This requires a high degree of resilience and adaptability from managers. This is particularly true for lawyers: not only do they provide legal advice to their customers, they also have to ensure that their own law firm and business unit remain successful and free from harm.

Mastering three roles at once
Leadership is not just about managing employees but requires mastering three roles simultaneously: as a lawyer, manager, and leader (AnwaltSpiegel 9.7.2025; Webinar 2.7.2025). A lawyer must first acquire and then maintain professional legal expertise. However, excellent legal expertise alone is no longer sufficient for a successful legal practice. Professional expertise helps to limit damage to avoid liability cases for customers and for oneself. In their role as managers, lawyers then look to complete non-legal work, which now takes up a large part of their time. In a VUCA world, this includes activities related to strategic positioning, maintaining customer relationships and dealing with the unknown. And in the third role, as a leader, the values, positioning, and organisation of the company are determined and implemented. This requires not only foresight and leadership, but also persuasiveness and calculated courage (AnwaltSpiegel 17.9.2025; Webinar 24.9.2025).

Upskilling of lawyers
The days when legal expertise alone led to success are long gone. Then, as now, business acumen was essential. Only those who fully understand their customers’ business environment can provide them with useful legal advice. Today, the legal profession must expand in two directions. On the one hand, there is an undisputed need to continuously integrate technological developments into one’s own value chain. On the other hand, instead of focusing solely on directly measurable financial added value, one should invest sustainably in the value of people. This requires focusing more on developing business skills, social skills, and shaping one’s own personality in addition to subject-matter expertise.

From legal expert to business leader
Customers expect lawyers to be able to provide accurate legal advice. I am aware that some lawyers would certainly question this assumption. In a complex and uncertain world, decision-makers want reliable and trustworthy people at their side. Lawyers and legal professionals are ideally suited for this role due to their training, background, and experience. The first step is to provide valid options and recommendations in addition to legal advice. The latter would bring them closer to the desired goal of becoming a trusted partner. This extra effort not only generates added value for customers, but also significantly strengthens their loyalty to their lawyer. This not only ensures repeat business, but above all increases the referral rate, which means free and, above all, valuable advertising.

Why general counsel develop faster
If we shift our perspective from external lawyers to in-house counsel at a company, we see that this development seems to be happening more quickly. There are various reasons for this. Employees in legal departments know that they are not defined solely by their technical expertise. Any legal knowledge that is lacking is developed or purchased as needed. Because the entire company is managed professionally in operational terms, the legal department must also provide evidence of efficient working methods, at least indirectly. Ultimately, in-house lawyers stay independent thinkers, but at the same time they see themselves as business partners working in the same team, where everyone is striving towards the same strategic goals and sharing part of the entrepreneurial risk. They understand themselves as managers who happen to have a legal education. And when you ‘sit at the table,’ you are expected not only to provide sound legal advice, reasonable options, and recommendations, but also to make joint business decisions.

To achieve this triple jump, lawyers have to develop from legal experts to successful managers, and ultimately to trusted leaders. This is not easy, but it is certainly feasible. In a complex world, you look for a reliable rock in the surf.