Legal management: the challenge of running a law firm in the 21st century.

Business law is facing an irreversible transformation. Brazil has the highest number of lawyers per capita in the world, making the environment extremely competitive. In this scenario, technical expertise, while indispensable, is no longer sufficient. Lawyers who want to stand out need to act with an executive mindset, connect law and business, and cultivate attributes such as empathy, availability, a sense of urgency, and an owner’s mentality. They need to understand that – contrary to what they have been taught – law practice is, in fact, a results-oriented activity.

As JP Morgan said, clients don’t hire lawyers to hear what they can’t do, but to discover how to achieve their goals safely and strategically.

“I don’t want a lawyer to tell me what I can’t do. I hire them to tell me how to do what I want to do.”

This reasoning has never been more relevant: lawyers need to be  business-driven , capable of translating law into solutions that generate growth, mitigate risks, and enable business.

Managing a law firm today is equivalent to running a highly complex service company. In my daily routine, I coordinate Finance, People & Management, Diversity, Innovation, Pro Bono, and Business Development committees. I maintain close contact with key clients (especially to hear their criticisms and insights), participate in prospecting for new business, and get involved in the most strategic cases. This experience shows that it’s not enough to practice law: it’s necessary to lead, plan, and directly influence the direction of the organization.

Law firms must be managed with governance discipline, a culture of innovation, and a long-term vision.

I no longer believe in the term  “soft skills .” What was once called “complementary” is now essential. Leadership, communication, empathy, negotiation, and strategic vision are  essential skills —mandatory abilities for anyone who wants to lead teams and win clients in a highly demanding market.

Some challenges are recurrent in the life of any legal manager, and among them I mention the main ones:

• • Pricing : Predatory competition based on price demands creative and sustainable fee models;

 

• • People management : leading professionals of different seniority levels, backgrounds, and cultures requires sensitivity, clarity, and discipline;

 

• • Corporate alignment : without a shared vision among partners, energy and opportunities are lost;

 

• • Client acquisition : the lifecycle of most clients within a law firm is shorter than it used to be. Renewing the client portfolio is fundamental and requires discipline, constant visits, participation in congresses and seminars, and the creation of legal content that speaks to the company’s stakeholders and not just the legal department. Therefore, consistency is key.

 

• • Market analysis : understanding technology, regulation, and business trends is just as important as mastering the law.

As a manager, I strive to encourage initiative and collaboration through a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming work environment that fosters the exchange of knowledge, opportunities, and innovation. I genuinely believe that the strength of any organization lies precisely in its team and how it is respected. Recruiting, mentoring, retaining, and promoting professionals always according to meritocratic, fair, and transparent criteria is mandatory.

Amidst so many transformations, we cannot forget that the legal profession is, above all, made up of people. Maintaining ethics, respecting, valuing, and encouraging the members of the firm must be a non-negotiable premise, because how we do it is as important as what we do. As asset-light

companies  , law firms have two main assets: the team and the clients. And both are people. In my practice, my mission is to ensure that each member of the firm can balance their personal and professional lives. Enabling the team’s success means allowing them to achieve personal fulfillment and, in some way, for this to be transmitted to our clients and society as a whole. Developing successors is a topic still little discussed in the sector, but essential to ensure longevity. Management must practice active listening, identify  rising stars  , and align the institutional strategy with the “sales” front—that is, with how we attract, serve, and retain clients. Furthermore, navigating the rules and limitations imposed by the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) requires creativity and responsibility to communicate value without exceeding regulatory boundaries. The legal profession of the future will not only be technological and strategic: it will also be ethical, human, and prepared to perpetuate its culture. There is also a new variable  in the air . Artificial intelligence is already redefining the legal profession. Automation of repetitive tasks, jurimetrics, risk analysis, and predictive tools will radically change how we operate. Law firms that resist the integration of AI run a serious risk of disappearing. The lawyer who will prosper will be the one capable of combining technology and data intelligence with strategic vision and human sensitivity. In this context, I continue to defend a thesis that I believe is gaining strength: just as engineers have reached the top positions in large corporations, I believe that Legal Directors will be the next CEOs. Never before have areas such as Legal, Compliance, Regulatory, ESG, Tax, and Corporate Governance been so strategic. These themes are at the heart of the biggest business decisions—and those who master this agenda have the legitimacy and preparation to lead organizations at the highest level.

Therefore, legal management is no longer synonymous with controlling processes, deadlines, or petitions. It is synonymous with business leadership. The future of law belongs to lawyers who can combine technical expertise, business acumen, and an executive mindset. In a saturated market, only those who think like leaders—and not just like lawyers—will have a future.

For me, the next step for the legal profession is clear: transforming lawyers into managers, managers into leaders, and leaders into CEOs.

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_{*Gustavo Lorenzi de Castro graduated from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP) in 1993. He participated in the Professional Training course at BM&F — São Paulo Commodities and Futures Exchange. He has served as an Advisor to the Ethics and Discipline Tribunal IV of the OAB/SP (São Paulo Bar Association) and was a member of the Brazilian Association of Information Technology Law, the International Association of Young Lawyers, and the Judiciary and Arbitration Committee of CESA (Center for Advanced Studies in Law). He completed the courses “Creating Value in Deals & Disputes” and “Advanced Negotiation: Difficult Conversations” from the Harvard Law School’s (USA) Program for Lawyers. He participated in the “Legal English Summer” Personal Development Program at the School of Continuing Studies at Northwestern University and the “Summer Program in American Law” at Columbia Law School in partnership with Leiden University (Netherlands). In 2022, he completed the “Owner/President Management — OPM 56 — program at Harvard Business School. In 2024, he participated in the Board Member Training course at IBGC — Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance. Since 2013, he has been a member of the YPO – Young Presidents Organization. Since 2010, he has been recognized as one of the most admired/respected lawyers in Brazil in various areas of law and in various industry segments.}

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Article published in LexLegal Brasil on September 16, 2025.