In a recent Platforum9 session, James Markham, co-author of “The Legal MBA Essentials,” shared critical insights on commercial skills development for lawyers. As an accountant who has worked with law firms for over 15 years, Markham brings a unique perspective to what has become an increasingly vital aspect of legal practice.

The Commercial Skills Gap

The legal profession has recognized the importance of commercial skills, with Markham noting that “91% of UK law firms said commercial skills training for lawyers is very important” in a recent survey. Despite this overwhelming consensus, legal education continues to focus almost exclusively on technical knowledge, leaving a significant gap in business acumen.

This disconnect becomes increasingly problematic as lawyers progress in their careers. As Markham explains, “There comes a point in your career where generally you focus on the technical skills, the legal skills, the doing of the work, getting it done. And then when you get to the top end of senior associate into partner promotion, you’re suddenly expected to have your own book of business, and that book of business is expected to be profitable.”

Without proper preparation, this transition represents a jarring “mindset shift out of delivering the doing of legal work and into that more mindset of an owner, of a business and owner of a law firm.”

What Are “Commercial Skills”?

One of the most valuable aspects of Markham’s discussion was his clarification of what “commercial skills” actually encompass. He identified three distinct dimensions:

1. Business of Law Skills – Understanding the mechanics of how law firms operate as businesses, including profitability metrics, cash flow management, and billing practices.
2. Commerciality of Legal Advice – The ability to frame legal guidance in business-relevant terms that address clients’ actual needs rather than abstract legal principles.
3. General Commercial Awareness – Knowledge of broader business trends and industry-specific developments that affect clients, ranging from front-page Financial Times stories to niche industry publications.

The Inconsistent Development Path

Perhaps most concerning is the inconsistent way these skills develop within firms. Markham observed that many lawyers find themselves “at the mercy of who has supervised them from the start. Was that lawyer a very commercial lawyer? Was that lawyer very good at imparting those skills?”

This creates significant disparities even within the same firm. Markham recalled conducting a pricing training session for associates at the same experience level where “the range went from a five-year PQE who has absolutely no experience of raising bills on the one hand, all the way through to someone who has been doing it almost since day one.”

The problem is exacerbated by a common contradiction in law firm management: “You take as a given that lawyers aren’t commercial… Well, they don’t understand how this stuff makes money. They don’t understand a bill. And then you say, well, do you let your juniors anywhere near the billing each month? And the answer is, ‘No, no, no. We don’t like to share the numbers.’ There’s a bit of a, well, someone’s got to give there.”

Practical Strategies for Developing Commercial Skills

Markham offered several practical approaches for lawyers at different career stages:

For Junior Lawyers:

1. Take Initiative with Billing – “Why don’t I just do a first pass of your draft bill? Why don’t I go through and mark up all the narratives that I don’t think are going to be recoverable?” Most partners “hate billing,” making this a valuable service while developing essential skills.
2. Follow Client-Relevant Publications – “Pick an industry and specialize in it… find out what your clients read.” Markham gave the example of agricultural law: “Get a subscription to Farmers Weekly. That will put you so far ahead, not only of your peers within your firm but also your peers in other firms.”
3. Create Learning Opportunities – The shift to remote work has eliminated the passive learning that came from overhearing senior lawyers’ conversations. Now, juniors need to “explicitly ask to be observing how the partner handles that difficult conversation or how the senior handles that point in the negotiation.”
4. Seek Debriefs After Key Events – “If your seniors are going out to a pitch… try to catch people informally over a coffee and say, ‘How did it go? What could we do better next time?'” This applies whether they won or lost the opportunity.

For Law Firms:

1. Increase Transparency – The resistance to sharing financial information with junior lawyers directly undermines efforts to build commercial skills.
2. Create Structured Progression – Some firms successfully embed commercial skills training at key career milestones, from trainee through to partner promotion.
3. Ground Training in Practice – “If the associate comes into the classroom… but fundamentally they don’t put that into practice within the week, very quickly that knowledge withers on the vine.”
4. Foster a Culture of Learning from Failure – Markham identified a significant cultural barrier: “It’s very difficult to find role models that are willing to share their failures and where things went wrong.” Creating safe spaces to discuss setbacks accelerates learning.

The Remote Work Challenge

The pandemic has fundamentally altered how commercial skills are transferred between generations of lawyers. Markham observed interesting regional variations in the UK: “In the city of London, firms are generally at a solid two, three days a week… But in the regions, it almost goes in one of two directions. It’s either almost entirely virtual/remote, or it’s much more of a ‘we’re in four or five days a week.'”

This shift creates challenges for commercial skill development. “In the good old days when everything happened in person or in an office, you could listen in on someone’s phone call,” Markham noted. That passive learning must now be replaced with more intentional knowledge transfer.

Markham also highlighted an important demographic shift: “If you think about a typical law firm pyramid… we must be hitting a tipping point now where nearly, if not actually, the majority of staff never knew a working life pre-COVID.” This suggests firms may need to rethink their approach to skill development rather than trying to recreate pre-pandemic conditions.

Technology: Opportunity and Risk

The conversation touched on how AI and other technologies are reshaping commercial aspects of legal practice. Markham described seeing “shadow IT” where junior lawyers use personal subscriptions to AI tools, which creates risk management concerns but also reflects their desire for efficiency.

At the same time, technology offers new opportunities for developing commercial awareness. With tools like ChatGPT, “you can at the touch of a button just ask ‘Tell me everything about the UK farming industry and what legal needs they may have,’ and you will get a brief that is far more comprehensive… than you would’ve been able to do with a Google search.”

The evolution of professional education itself also creates opportunities, with platforms like Platforum9 offering accessible ways to develop skills without the time commitment of traditional in-person events.

The MBA Question

When asked about the value of formal business education like MBAs, Markham provided a nuanced view. While valuable for broadening perspective beyond technical legal expertise, he acknowledged the significant time investment required: “It was two and a half years for me to do mine with a full-time job… it’s pretty intense.”

For specific career paths like moving in-house, an MBA can “differentiate yourself from pure play lawyers that only have the legal experience” by demonstrating broader commercial understanding. However, Markham was clear that not every lawyer needs or should pursue an MBA.

The Future of Legal Practice

Markham concluded with an important insight about the future role of lawyers in an increasingly AI-driven world: “Those softer skills around relationship management and really understanding and empathizing with your clients about ‘What is the challenge you’re facing? How does this legal advice fit into that?’ That’s where it is defensible.”

The alternative is troubling: “If you reduce yourself to essentially a delivery commodity, whether it’s you doing it or it’s ChatGPT, I think that’s where it starts looking a bit sticky.”

This perspective underscores why commercial skills have become so critical. As AI increasingly handles routine legal tasks, a lawyer’s value will increasingly depend on their ability to operate at the intersection of legal expertise and business understanding. For today’s lawyers, particularly those early in their careers, developing these capabilities isn’t optional—it’s essential for long-term relevance in a rapidly evolving profession.