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In 2007 Tim Morris of Said Business School, Oxford University set out his research into "Developing New Practices: recipes for success." as a chapter in a book entitled "Managing the Modern Law Firm" (See Foot of Blog for details).

In researching forty examples of new practice development (50% of which failed), he identified the 3 ingredients that were always present in successful practice development:

Defensible Turf.

• Successful new practices removed barriers to acceptance of the new practice especially by key stakeholders
• Successful new practices used external sources, such as powerful clients, to legitimise the new activity
• Successful new practices used internal sources of persuasion to in order to carve out autonomous territory

Differentiated Expertise. Successful new practices displayed a body of knowledge that is both distinctive and shared an approach to structuring client work that was commonly understood within the firm. This depended upon the market conditions, and can be achieved by:

• Lateral hires.
• developing existing people, or
• grouping together existing resources geographically

Organisational Support. Successful new practices were offered both intangible and tangible support like:

• Trained associates
• Cross-selling the new practice by partners with long-standing clients relationships
• Political sponsorship
• "Breathing space" from normal client pressures,

Laterals are often brought in to a new practice development scenario. A typical hiring rationale would be:

• Turf. They will bring powerful clients, which will give credibility presence in this market.
• Expertise. They bring a new angle as an adjunct to our existing work, one where we can see real growth possibilities.
• Support. We have under-utilised associates who can provide initial support, and long-standing clients who could benefit from this service.

When the partner arrives, the scenario unwinds:

• Turf - Key clients don't come, or workload is far below expectations. Partner needs to be "fed" work by existing partners, who begin to resent the work not going to long-standing colleagues
• Expertise - Existing partners, failing to see a large client base or large projects, begin to believe that the expertise base wasn't perhaps that different to their own, and they could offer it themselves. The autonomous territory begins to be undermined.
• Support - Long-standing partners have reservations about cross-selling, partners question the laterals' ability, and budgets come under scrutiny. Pressure begins to fold the practice into an existing one. The lateral questions their own ability and security, and their own internal persuasive powers dissipate.
  

The three ingredients are distinct, yet intertwined.  Turf relies on confidence, which comes from both belief in the expertise/distinctiveness of the budding department and support from the firm's big-hitters. Without a solid start, underpinned by existing clients who quickly give new instructions, a lateral is immediately at the top of the downward slide, whatever the warm words given by a firm's management committee.