What’s Your Mind-Set?

“I can’t do that; we’re just a small firm.”

“The big firms have all kinds of money they can use to do that stuff.”

Have you ever said those things? Have you ever thought those things?

Do you perceive yourself to be at a disadvantage compared to the big firms?

The funny thing is that they say similar things about us.

“They can buy that because they only have to buy one or two. We can’t because we’d have to buy 800.”

“They can turn on a dime. We can’t change anything.”

They actually think you have the advantage.

I think they’re right.

Being small is an advantage.

Sure, sure, they can throw 15 associates at a problem and you can’t.

But is that really the case?

The Advantages of Being Small

• Can’t you find the help you need using services like elance.com? Can’t you use a legal process outsourcer and pull together a team quickly? There’s no way they can be that flexible: they’re rigid bureaucracies. And, of course, they have to keep paying those associates when the work is done. You won’t be paying your independent contractors after they finish their work.

• Can’t you implement an e-discovery product on a case-by-case basis? You can quickly test out a cloud-based product and use it on one case at a time and see how it works. You can experiment while they’re stuck in committees debating the relative merits of various vendors, and then they’re locked into that vendor for eons.

• Can’t you switch laptops, cell phones, tablets, etc. without a meeting of the management committee in consultation with the IT committee? Sure you can. In fact, you can drive to the Verizon store and back in the time it takes them to figure out who’s going to be allowed to attend the committee meeting.

You’re nimble, quick, and flexible. You’ve got the latest, greatest technology just a click away. You can rent people, software, and hardware without making a major financial investment. You can move forward without a long-term commitment.

The playing field is more level now than it ever has been.

They should envy you. They should be jealous.

Our new saying: “We can do it all. We’re a small firm.”