Team Management In IP Firms
IP firms usually take different lawyers on board. This is because intellectual property rights may differ in nature, and cases may vary according to their nature. However, a smoothly managed team is critical for any firm to work efficiently and garner results.
What makes an IP firm different from other businesses is its stakeholders. The prime party remains the lawyers. Other than lawyers who make the technical core of the IP firms, there is another staff such as HR, IT support, and marketing.
Another prime stakeholder is the client, who always comes to the team with a problem. What if a loosely-formed team fails to offer a solid solution to the issues of this primary stakeholder? To avoid that, we need to understand how a smooth team can work in an IP firm. For an IP firm’s proper team management, here are some points the management should undertake:
● Managing Diversity With Flexibility
IP firms will encounter people from all walks of life. The clientele will include business owners, writers or even musicians. With so much variation in the client base, it is essential to keep communication open and well-equip the solution providers.
To nurture great team efforts, lawyers from all types of IP rights should be a part of the team. Not only that, they must be trained to handle people from different walks of life.
● Going Local
In the world of the internet, we tend to see everything in a global light. However, this perspective changes completely with an IP firm’s management. While you may take help from global resources, the best practice for managing the business for an IP firm is to stick to the local clientele.
The reason is pretty simple. Laws differ even within states, and if your lawyers aren’t local, they don’t know the pain points of their clients.
● Streamline the Whole Team
In an IP firm, one may think that only lawyers are an essential resource. That’s true to some extent, but lawyers need people to support them. If the team lacks technical support or business support, they may start losing clients. So, the best way to nurture business is to manage an operational team that provides support at each business process stage.
● Learn to Delegate
Sometimes, the law experts get too much engrossed in the office management part. It may result in the loss of essential business operations. To reduce the problem, the IP firms must have a strong hierarchy designated for operational and technical functions.
● Make Clients the Center of All Operations
An IP firm cannot work without clients. The problem most IP firms face is that they do not have retained clients. They always have to work for finding new clients, but if the previous clients aren’t happy, there will be an absence of positive chatter.
A negative business image damages everything in the world of competition, so all the staff of an IP firm must understand the value of a client and work accordingly.
Managing teams is a challenging task, and with experts on board, it becomes tougher. So, if the teams follow these simple rules, they can master their IP business.