Beyond the above points of view, there are also other lesser talked about aspects which make it crucial to promote the team culture.

• Client Continuity: Independent partners tend to dominate client relationships, more often for the benefit of the firm, however this practice is not bereft of its drawbacks. Lateral transfers or the exit of a proactive independent partner too often affects a firm adversely. Firms should aim at striking a balance between ‘institutionalising’ the client relationship and allowing partners to ‘own’ their clients. The relevance of team work therefore also extends to client retention and is a tool for creating redundancies for client servicing. When a team services a client, there is an opportunity for multiple relationships to develop. This allows for increased confidence, scalability and a show of strength on the Partner-in-charge, thus developing an assurance of continuity in the minds of the clients.

• Talent Retention: The legal profession is such, where there is always a possibility for lawyers to become secluded due to their own workload or that of those around them. Lawyers within a team interacting on a regular basis for the duration of a matter or deal develop a sense of fellowship, common interests and commitment towards the accomplishment of the team’s objectives. The law firm can benefit immensely from the inter-personal camaraderie of the lawyers. This also often leads to the creation of personal bonds which become an important part of the firm’s retention policy.

• Creating Leaders: Often, teamwork accentuates situational leadership. Cohesive and efficient team work, allows for opportunities to each person in the team to lead and take responsibility in areas of their core competencies. Attorneys who are part of a common pool are often pulled in all directions and do not emerge with enough opportunities to take initiative in relation to the work of a designated team. The creation of teams allows individual attorneys to focus more effectively and efficiently towards their own growth as well as what they deliver to the firm. Moreover the responsibility of managing a team provides partners with an opportunity to leverage their billing and business development capacity. From the firm leadership’s point of view, the firm can identify partners who can take up an additional firm-level leadership position based on their management of their team. 

All in all, there are many nuances of how teamwork benefits your firm as well as what you need to be careful about. The bottom line however remains that teamwork can contribute positively towards the firm’s success in more ways than one.