Law firms—ranging from Am Law 100 institutions to midsize practices—are increasingly turning to business professionals to lead their operations, finance, technology, and people functions. In 2025, firms have accelerated the professionalization of their management structures, driven by the complexity of modern legal operations and the growing demands of profitability, data analysis, and artificial intelligence.
While law firms have long relied on partners to manage administrative areas, recent C-suite hires like Gary Levin (Kirkland & Ellis), Amy Kotulski (Winston & Strawn), and Jason Mulgrew (Kleinberg Kaplan) signal a shift: business-savvy professionals are no longer just helpful—they’re essential. These appointments underscore a growing acknowledgment that practicing lawyers are often not best positioned to lead increasingly sophisticated business functions.
Calibrate CEO Jennifer Johnson noted that the rate of change in the legal sector has outpaced the traditional model of partner-led management.
“Things are moving too fast for anyone who isn’t a regular student of business to possibly advise on everything in human resources, technology, even finances,” she explained.
Johnson highlighted a common misconception among partners—that their legal expertise equips them for broader leadership roles.
“We start asking them questions about IT, change management, organization rescale and design, and they don’t have the answers because they haven’t done that,” she said.
This shift isn’t just about capability; it’s also about changing priorities. Johnson observed a cultural transition among younger lawyers, many of whom are more interested in focusing exclusively on legal practice.
“The next generation is taking over… and they are saying, ‘I want to spend more time with family. I only want to practice law.’”
This mindset is helping normalize the separation between legal work and firm management—opening doors for dedicated business leaders to take the reins.
Yet, implementing this change isn’t always frictionless. There can be tension between attorneys and incoming business professionals, especially in firms where tradition runs deep. Some partners may feel their territory is being encroached upon. However, the operational demands of today’s firms leave little room for outdated structures.
Johnson emphasized the value of business leaders in synthesizing data for actionable insight: “The COO ought to be the one that is bringing to the partners information that is digestible and actionable in a short amount of time, so that the partners can get back to practicing law.”
This division of responsibilities helps optimize both legal and operational performance—ultimately benefiting clients and firm profitability.
