In a dynamic and rapidly evolving legal landscape, collaboration has become as vital as ever. As legal professionals, we recognize the challenges that arise from working in silos and the immense potential that lies within effective teamwork. Join us on a captivating journey as we share a story of collaboration and discover strategies that can revolutionize teamwork within your own legal practice.
Setting the stage for collaboration
For context, our best-practice matrix organization is structured around four regional legal teams (Americas, Europe, EEMA, and AsiaX/GCR) that service our consulting arm of McKinsey with contracting agreements and four global functional teams (people legal, strategic legal, public affairs, and legal operations and strategy) that consist of “subject matter expert” legal professionals.
Within McKinsey’s global legal department, we have witnessed a large-scale transformation of teams and exponential growth from approximately 90 colleagues to 275 colleagues over the past four years. This expansion brought forth a significant challenge: ‘integrative lawyers’ (the internal name for our regional legal teams that support contract negotiation, Firm policies, and overall risk assessment), faced time-sensitive situations where prompt access to our subject-matter-expert legal teams was needed. Recognizing the need for enhanced collaboration, we approached our legal leadership team with an innovative idea that marked the beginning of an exciting project.
Diversity and brainstorming for success
Understanding the value of geographic diversity, we assembled a project team that mirrored the various backgrounds, roles, expertise, and geographies within our legal department. To begin our project, we organized a team kick-off meeting followed by brainstorming sessions. Leveraging the collective knowledge and experiences of our project team, we set clear objectives and established a shared understanding of the challenges we aimed to address.
Guided insights from seasoned experts
Just as we guide our clients through complex legal matters, we sought guidance from the Firm’s People and Organizational Performance Practice. The invaluable insights equipped us with the tools and methodologies, including the seven-step problem-solving process, to approach our collaboration challenge with confidence. Armed with newfound wisdom, we developed an early hypothesis that identified the core challenges inhibiting further collaboration and synergies within our department.
We understood that assumptions alone would not suffice; we needed concrete data from the heart of our legal team.
Amplifying the voice of our legal team and crafting solutions together
Empathy lies at the core of our profession, and it played a pivotal role in our quest for collaboration. We launched a comprehensive survey, engaging members of our global legal team. The 80 percent participation rate showcased the eagerness of our colleagues to contribute to this transformative initiative. To deepen our understanding, we also engaged in personalized interviews with senior lawyers of our department, capturing their invaluable perspectives.
Collaboration is not just a buzzword; it is the heartbeat of our legal department. Within this safe and inclusive space, every idea was nurtured, fostering a culture of innovation. Together, we identified common themes, synergies, and promising solutions. At all times, we regarded the human at the center as our North Star—that is, our user who is our very own legal-department colleague hoping for an improved future state of work.
Collaboration in action: Our project team
Like a well-orchestrated legal team preparing for practice, our project team embraced open communication, empathy, and continuous learning throughout our journey. Each team member contributed their unique and candid perspectives, acting as each other’s sounding boards and enriching our team discussions. Through our united efforts, we charted a path forward, ready to conquer the challenges that lay ahead.
What’s next?
In today's fast-paced and demanding legal environment, collaboration is the cornerstone of success. By building a solid foundation, seeking guidance from experts, amplifying the voice of our legal team, crafting solutions through collective wisdom, and embodying teamwork in action, we have further unleashed power within our legal department. Together, we can revolutionize the legal landscape and thrive in an era defined by cooperation, innovation, and collective success.
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Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” Our story exemplifies the truth of these words, as we eagerly head towards full launch of our two final solutions to unlock the full potential of this transformative journey of collaboration and shared success. If you are interested in learning about two solutions we landed on, watch this space.