This Session featured David Kaufman, Director of Global Strategies at Nixon Peabody in San Francisco, who shared practical insights on how legal practitioners can transform uncertain times into lucrative opportunities for their practices.
Kaufman’s discussion revealed how lawyers can thrive during periods of unprecedented change by embracing uncertainty rather than retreating from it. His approach demonstrates that instability, whilst challenging, creates the exact conditions where sophisticated legal advice becomes most valuable to clients navigating complex new realities.
Dual Forces Creating Opportunity
The conversation identified two streams reshaping the business landscape. As Kaufman observed: “I kind of look at it as being two different flows of instability. On the one hand you’re having kind of geopolitical macroeconomic instability… which is upending a lot of the norms that we think that we’ve had in the economy. You also at the same time have AI, artificial intelligence and how that’s upending the way that we do business.”
Rather than viewing these changes as threats, Kaufman emphasised: “I think unfamiliarity should not be considered scary… this is a time where lawyers can really stand out if they lean in and look for the ways that they can help their clients kind of decipher what’s actually going on.”
Strategic Client Engagement
Traditional client relationship management involves regular communication, but Kaufman distinguished between mere contact and strategic listening. “Staying in touch with your clients… oftentimes when it comes to legal marketing, that means to tell the client what we’re doing… But I do think that to a large extent, it’s the inputs… are you talking to your clients? Are you asking them what’s happening with their business?”
Physical presence proves crucial: “When you get to talk to them in person, they’ll tell you things they won’t tell you by Zoom call or on the telephone or by email. And you can observe what’s actually happening in their business.”
Legal Savvy as Competitive Advantage
Kaufman articulated a compelling value framework: “Legal savvy equals a competitive advantage.” This translates to client relationships where legal expertise becomes “rocket fuel” for business success rather than merely cost management.
Uncertainty as Professional Opportunity
Rather than viewing uncertain times as obstacles, Kaufman positioned them as periods when lawyers demonstrate unique value. “If everything was just simple… then I think AI will take over the legal business… that’s not gonna happen. And that’s why I think the notion is that in this current environment… lawyers can really thrive because you can turn instability into opportunity.”
The pandemic provided a template: “During the pandemic we saw the same thing. We were confronted every single day with novel legal issues… clients had to turn to their lawyers to figure out, okay, what can I do?”
Developing Strategic Advisors
The discussion addressed preparing younger lawyers for advisory roles. Kaufman advocated the “no potted plant rule”: “If you are taking an attorney with you, they’re not a potted plant… give them a job… Even your most junior associate… you enable them to become an expert in something. And when we get to the client, you have them to talk about that.”
He also recommended allowing associates to pursue emerging interests: “Let associates spend 20% of the time on something they really love… if they can do something they love for 20% of their time, the 80% of the time, they’ll do anything for you.”
Value-Based Billing
Kaufman challenged the notion that value equals lowest cost: “When you have a lawyer that can help you look at a complex, turbulent, unstable environments and help you as a company figure out how to turn that instability into opportunity? That client work is incredibly valuable.”
Conclusion
The Session revealed that uncertain times can create optimal conditions for sophisticated legal practitioners to demonstrate their value. Rather than retreating from instability, successful lawyers embrace it as an opportunity to develop deeper client relationships and position themselves as indispensable strategic advisors. The key is transforming uncertainty from a threat into a competitive advantage through genuine client engagement, strategic thinking, and personal sustainability.
