The Perfect Partner

If you’ve made it to Partner, or you’re determined to become one, what are the key qualities and strengths required of a Partner in a modern-day law firm?
In The Perfect Partner, former Managing Partner and law firm management consultant Simon McCrum examines what makes a Perfect Partner from the viewpoint of numerous key stakeholders, including clients, colleagues, and the business itself. Detailing the characteristics and behaviours that a Partner needs, the book digs deep into a Partner's commercial contribution to the business, their relationships with staff and other Partners, business development, accountability, compliance, and much more. And all under the central umbrella of making a profit and growing a business.

Working through the layers of value (or destruction) that a Partner can bring, Simon arrives at a surprising conclusion. Measurable things count, but other more human things count more. If that law firm rocket is going to take off, and prove able to shoot for the stars, each Partner – and all the Partners together – need to focus unequivocally on a 'magic ingredient' to make the firm unstoppable.

Based on 35 years as a lawyer, Partner, and legal sector management consultant (including his time as Managing Partner during the credit crunch), Simon brings his extensive experience, wisdom, and insights to bear in The Perfect Partner. The book also includes interviews with legal professionals at every level.

Have you got what it takes to be a Perfect Partner? And, just as importantly, have your Partners got the right stuff, too?

About Simon Simon McCrum qualified as a commercial lawyer in 1990 at Pannone in Manchester, and during his time at the firm, his role evolved from fee-earner into wider positions including Head of various teams, Marketing Partner, Director of Business Development, Equity Partner, and part of the Management Team at the 1,000 person firm. In 2007, Simon became Managing Partner at a full-service Top 200 law firm in Oxford, Darbys Solicitors. The firm made a trading loss in 2007, but after going a long way backwards - and experiencing the 2008 Credit Crunch - the firm emerged to be the country’s fastest-growing law firm and was acquired by Knights in 2016. Simon subsequently exited to form McCrum Consulting and the McCrum Training Academy to help the business performance and growth of law firms, teams, and lawyers. Simon helps partners, teams, and firms to secure ongoing growth in a safe, sustainable way.

Simon is the author of the Law Firm Management and Leadership Trilogy of which this book forms part, along with The Perfect Legal Business and The Perfect Lawyer.