How leadership models and succession planning are changing across the legal industry
By Jeff McDanald, The Lane Report
Across the legal industry, law firms are rethinking what leadership looks like. As client needs grow more complex and firms expand across geographies and disciplines, traditional managing-partner models are evolving into broader, more business-minded structures.
Back in the day, it made sense to have one person running the show, but with the rapid pace of change and the high-stakes intricacies of modern professional life there’s been a divestment of responsibilities over the spheres of influence within a firm.
Today, a firm’s top-level C-suite might include a chief human resources officer, a chief financial officer, a chief marketing officer and a host of others to manage the business landscape. In the legal realm, a CEO may or may not be the top-dog executive. That crucial role might be subordinate to a variety of titles, including managing member, managing partner, chair or some other moniker.
When balancing continuity with change, how does a firm grapple with pivoting from a venerable leadership icon without sending a whole raft of institutional knowledge down the river?
McBrayer’s evolution
Kentucky-based McBrayer PLLC is a powerful example of this shift. After more than 30 years as managing member, James H. Frazier III is transitioning into the role of chief executive officer, focusing on strategy, growth and innovation. At the same time, Jaron Blandford will become managing member, leading day-to-day operations and attorney development.
“McBrayer today is very different from the last time we went through a leadership transition in 1993,” said Jim Frazier. “We have grown from seven attorneys to nearly 70, added two offices, launched a government relations group, and significantly expanded our administrative and operational complexity. That growth required us to rethink not just who leads, but how leadership works.
“It became clear that we could either stick with what worked in the past or we could recognize the realities of a complex and growing modern firm and adapt our leadership strategy to meet the moment,” Frazier said.
“Clients today expect agility, collaboration and innovation from their law firms,” Frazier said. “To deliver that, leadership must evolve too. This model allows us to make faster, smarter decisions and align our strategy with how our clients do business.”
Managing Member Jaron Blandford agrees. “The most important thing for our clients and potential clients is that the client experience won’t change,” Blandford said. “This firm is dedicated to its clients and prides itself in providing excellent legal services and having a positive impact with our clients and in our communities. This transition was planned carefully over several years to ensure continuity. Jim and I worked hand-in-hand for a very long time to ensure this continuity, with the help and support of the entire McBrayer law firm family. We are not changing direction or reinventing the firm; we are strengthening the path we have already been on.
“Having Jim step into the CEO role ensures that the firm continues to benefit from his perspective and institutional knowledge, while I bring my energy and focus to day-to-day leadership,” Blandford said.
Stoll Keenon Ogden
“Succession planning is a requirement for the future stability of our firm and should be a cornerstone for any business,” said P. Douglas Barr, member and managing director of Stoll Keenon Ogden. “We also know that successful succession planning is what our clients expect of us.
“Thoughtful relationship transition is also an essential part of maintaining client trust as advisors change over time. Introducing the next lead attorney for a client early deliberately helps ensure continuity and long-term confidence. This approach allows clients to build familiarity and trust while ensuring a seamless transfer of responsibility.
“Succession planning in law goes beyond who will be in the firm’s future C-suite,” said Barr. “It covers individual practices and industries to ensure that attorneys providing day-to-day client service are given the knowledge and ability to serve these clients. SKO has 47 practice areas and we work to ensure that each is planning to bring in the right talent and develop that talent to lead and grow these practices over time.
“The firm places significant emphasis on the transition of client relationships as senior attorneys retire. This involves thoughtfully identifying the next primary trusted advisor and ensuring clients are comfortable with that transition. The process is handled gradually and with care to maintain continuity and service.
“SKO’s board of directors and related committees spend years, not months, preparing for thoughtful leadership transitions that limit disruptions for clients, attorneys and support staff. It is our belief that the earlier you begin succession planning, for both our firm and for any clients we advise, the more prepared and organized the transition will be.”
Wyatt Tarrant Combs
“We make an effort to plan early, as leadership succession is an ongoing process – one that requires advance notice from our lawyers who may desire a change in their role or to slow down toward retirement, while at the same time identifying the successor(s) and exposing them during transition periods to various leadership positions, such as committee chairs and practice-group management,” said Lexington Market Leader/ Partner Emily Cowles of Wyatt Tarrant Combs.
“The most important thing, of course, is having the right people on the team. We want to make sure that we have a capable person, with the right temperament, training, energy level and candlepower to step into the bigger role. If you have those things in place, the group, whether it is lawyers or clients, will usually accept the new person.
“A major pitfall is expecting that just because someone has the technical or legal expertise that the group of lawyers or clients will just accept the successor. There’s a lot more to it than that. In our profession, we are trained to become lawyers and may even have the largest book of revenue in the firm, but such expertise does not automatically translate into leadership aptitude, financial or business competency, or the ability to manage clients and people.”
Dentons
For law firms, succession planning isn’t limited to just the managing partner’s role. Law firms also need to have succession plans for practices. A great example of succession planning at the practice level at Dentons is in the firm’s Louisville office, where veteran Partner Chaz Lavelle, a pioneer and leader in the captive insurance industry, has been mentoring Partner Bailey Roese from early in her career to set her up as his successor in this niche practice.
Roese is now an emerging leader in the captive insurance space, often speaking on captive insurance topics at national and international conferences. Her impact has been recognized through numerous awards, including being named to Captive International’s FORTY Under 40 classes of 2023 and 2025 and the publication’s Influential Women in Captive Insurance for 2025. She has also been named to Captive Review’s Power 50 list for 2024 and 2025 and as its Captive Service Professional of the Year in 2024.
“From early in my career, Partner Chaz Lavelle has taken me under his wing and been a fantastic mentor in the niche practice of captive insurance,” said Roese, tax partner in Dentons’ Louisville office. “Chaz has been a leading lawyer in the captive insurance space for decades and through his mentorship, he has opened the door to opportunities for me to grow my practice, share my knowledge on captives, and take on leadership roles within organizations in the captive insurance industry.
“Particularly crucial to the transition and my future success has been Chaz’s intentionality with respect to introducing me to clients and industry colleagues, including me on panels and presentations that once may have featured only him, and suggesting I take the lead on certain projects. What is so wonderful about Chaz is that he doesn’t expect me to practice exactly as he does. He encourages me and other younger lawyers to blaze our own career paths and bring our own strengths, ideas and styles to shape our practice.”
Stites & Harbison
Stites & Harbison is managed by the firm’s chair, Marjorie A. Farris, and a six-person management committee. Office executive members and service group leaders also hold leadership roles across the firm’s 12 offices.
“Leadership succession plan-ning at Stites & Harbison is a deliberate and transparent process, designed to ensure that attorneys aspiring to leadership roles clearly understand the expectations and pathways to achieve them,” Farris said. “We have written descriptions of the skills necessary for serving in various leadership positions at every level across the firm.
“Additionally, our leadership decisions are grounded in the firm’s ‘Ten Imperatives of Client Service,’ reinforcing that succession is not only about internal continuity but also focuses on maintaining accessibility, reliability, responsiveness and assurance for clients through every transition.
“Stites & Harbison invests in and encourages its lawyers to participate in both internal and external leadership development programs at various stages throughout their career. Leadership programming focuses on skills such as delegation, time management, and large-matter management. We are proud of our internal ‘Stites University’ platform, which includes a College of Leadership that provides resources on numerous topics pertinent to leadership in the legal services industry. Continued focus on training opportunities gives prospective leaders the context to step into roles confidently.”
