What’s the most important ingredient in creating incentives for lawyers?
This is a question that Dr Paola frequently encounters and she advises that it’s critical to avoid vague definitions of success such as “improved performance”, or “increased efficiency” as this will make it difficult to design meaningful incentives that will result in actual changes in behavior. For example, the definition of good performance can vary greatly from firm to firm. For one firm it may mean increased billing while for another it may mean low staff turnover.
Successful incentives must be derived from a deep understanding of what the particular firm says it wants and how willing it is to move itself in that direction — all of which have to be informed by data.
It is challenging but once you identify what is meant by success at your firm, and how you will measure it, it then becomes possible put in place incentives that will change behavior.
Head on over to the Legal Executive Institute to hear exactly what Dr. Paola advises.
About Dr. Paola and Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute
The above is a short introduction to the third in a series of monthly columns by Dr. Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio published in association with the Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute.
Dr. Cecchi-Dimeglio, a behavioral economist and senior research fellow for Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession and the Harvard Kennedy School.
The monthly columns answer questions about how law firms and legal service firms can navigate a dramatically changing legal environment using data analytics and behavioral science.
Previous Ask Dr. Paola Columns
Ask Dr. Paola: Do I Need to Use Data Analytics in My Law Firm?
Ask Dr. Paola: How Can I Best Incentivize My Firm’s Lawyers toward Better Performance?
