Why Senior Lawyers Are Investing In Their Business Skills
Stepping out of the legal bubble can make lawyers better leaders.
Law firms increasingly expect partners to operate as business leaders as much as legal experts. But most lawyers receive little formal management or commercial training before being handed responsibility for strategy and people management.
That gap is becoming harder to ignore in a hyper competitive legal market that’s been transformed by globalisation and technology over the past decade.
For a growing number of senior lawyers, Executive MBA programmes are becoming one way to bridge it.
Alex Kemp, a partner at international firm HFW, is currently in the first year of the Executive MBA at King’s Business School. He believes the demands placed on modern law firm leaders are fundamentally different from those of previous generations.
“The legal market in London has changed out of all recognition in the past 20 years,” he said. “The effect that American firms have had on London has been transformational.”
He believes many lawyers would benefit from developing the business leadership side of their skillset.
“Law firms are very homogenous environments. We’ve all gone through the same qualification process and it’s a very flat structure - that is not always good for creativity, development or new ideas,” Kemp said.
“What I wanted was to meet leaders in other industries with different experiences and different operating environments, and learn from that.”
That cross-industry learning is a central part of the Executive MBA at King’s Business School, which brings together senior professionals from sectors including finance, healthcare, government, media and law.
I wanted to meet leaders in other industries with different experiences and different operating environments.
Alongside core business topics including finance, leadership and organisational management, the programme places a strong emphasis on how businesses respond to wider technological, social and environmental change.
An MBA for modern professional services leaders
The programme is taught part-time over two years in 10, four to five-day blocks to fit around full-time work.
According to Gillian Brooks, a senior lecturer in strategic marketing and EMBA programme director, the structure reflects the realities of modern executive life while allowing cohorts to build strong professional relationships.
“Being a newer programme allows us to avoid legacy constraints and focus on what matters most to today's leaders,” Brooks said. “Every aspect of the EMBA has been intentionally designed to deliver contemporary, impactful and relevant executive education.”
Beyond the classroom, the course includes residential and international immersion elements designed to push students outside their normal professional environments.
The programme kicks off with a residential trip to Osea Island in Essex, a secluded retreat that has hosted some of the world’s top music artists.
The trip is an intentional break away from the classroom and allows students to take part in leadership and team-building exercises intended to strengthen the cohort early in the programme.
“Students are really tested,” Brooks said. “They come out much closer together and more cohesive because they’ve been put in situations where they feel vulnerable or are having to rethink who they are as leaders.”
In their second year, students take part in a global immersion project. Recent cohorts have travelled to Cape Town to study leadership, entrepreneurship and economic development in a different business and regulatory environment.
Brooks said building a diverse cohort is a deliberate part of the programme design.
“We have individuals who have worked in media, surgeons from the NHS, lawyers, accountants, entrepreneurs. That is essential. I want to make sure that you're learning as much from your cohort as you are from the faculty.”
Lawyers as leaders
Lawyers, she added, often bring deep technical expertise but can benefit from stepping back and thinking more broadly about leadership and organisational management.
“Lawyers are trained to solve complex legal problems, but senior leadership requires a broader lens,” she said.
Lawyers are trained to solve complex legal problems, but senior leadership requires a broader lens.
“The EMBA encourages participants to look beyond their functional expertise and develop the commercial, strategic and organisational capabilities needed to lead effectively at the highest levels.”
For lawyers operating in an increasingly competitive and commercially sophisticated market, that broader perspective is becoming harder to treat as optional.
The next cohort of King’s Executive MBA starts in October 2026 and is now open for applications.
Sponsored by King’s Business School
