The Research Of The Partner Team Management In LB Law Firm

The law industry in China is developing rapidly;as of now,there are more than 300,000 lawyers nation-wide,and law firms have reached more than 25,000.However,the average number of lawyers per firm was 12.2;the number of small and medium-sized law firms which is below 30 persons was more than 90%.In an increasingly competitive market,the traditional way of managing law firms lacks adaptability to the external environment.The key challenge facing the law business in China is to break management bottlenecks and create effective collaborative team work model for all of the Small and medium-sized law firms,which are the main players of the law industry.Law firms as professional service organizations are a typical cooperative organization,but lawyers work as freelancers with a strong personality of freedom and independence,making them difficult to cooperate with each other.For law firms,partners are both decision makers and implementers.They are the core of the lawyer team management that directly impact the firm’s competitiveness and long-term development.The author suggests that the management of teamwork is crucial for law firms to meet the internal and external environmental changes and contribute to the long-term sustainability.This thesis adopts a case study method and focuses on Shanghai LB Law Firm.The findings demonstrate the mechanisms of and reveal the necessity of team cooperation among the partners,which has valuable implications for managing small and medium-sized law firms in China.Based on the upper echelon theory,this thesis analyzes the characteristics of LB partners,internal collaboration,performance output and performance factors,and recognizes that demographic characteristics and variability affect organizational performance under certain conditions.Various team roles help identify team members’ collaboration preferences and characteristics,promote teamwork,and improve team performance.Role ambiguity and conflict are obstacles to teamwork and disrupt team performance.The characteristics of the executive team directly impact on the team decision-making,internal communication and teamwork,and ultimately organizational performance.The team structure and the external environment have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the executive team;in particular,the team collaboration model has a direct impact on team decision and performance output.Combined with the role of the partner team,the author suggests a collaboration model of partner integration which will break the divide between partners.Meanwhile,the author suggests LB to change the organizational structure,break the barriers of interest,set common goals,strengthen the common values,improve communication,etc.Finally,the paper summarizes research findings,suggestions,and limitations,as well as points directions for future research.