Amid an Uncertain 2026, Law Firms Need Clear Strategic Growth Bets

Amid an uncertain 2026, the firms that will pull ahead are those that make a few clear strategic growth bets and build the decision‑speed to act on them.

What’s a strategic growth bet? It is a conscious choice to prioritize a small number of markets / practices where your firm can realistically win outsized work over the next 2–3 years. 

Each bet should answer three questions:

• Who are we serving?

• What problems are we going to be known for?

• How will we deliver distinctive value?

The strongest bets sit where firm strengths overlap with external opportunity and pricing power.

Why Growth Bets Matter in 2026

Thompson Reuters’ 2026 Report on the State of the US Legal Market  paints a nuanced picture: demand and profits remain strong, but much of that strength is tied to regulatory upheaval, geopolitical risk, and rapid technological change rather than stable economic growth. At the same time, BTI’s 2026 Practice Outlook indicates that litigation and other high‑stakes work are expanding, with many companies planning to increase outside counsel spend and seeking new firms that can handle complex, business‑critical matters.

In this context, trying to grow "a bit of everything" spreads resources thin just as talent and technology costs are outpacing inflation and clients are reallocating work toward firms that combine quality with value. Clear growth bets give firms a shared focus so they can invest intentionally rather than reactively.

Decision-Speed: The Underappreciated Advantage

Making smart bets is only half of the equation; the other half is how quickly a firm can act when an aligned opportunity appears. Recent years have shown that moments of disruption—Covid, regulatory shocks, firm combinations, lateral waves—create narrow windows where proactive firms can move decisively.

Yet many firms are still wired for:

• Extended analysis cycles and consensus-seeking.

• Ambiguity about who can say "yes" or "no" within 24–48 hours.

• "First conversations" that begin after other firms have already made offers or approached clients or laterals.

  
  

As operating costs rise and combinations accelerate, the ability to make clear, timely decisions about opportunities that fit your growth bets becomes as important as the bets themselves.

If you’ve never created a go/no-go list or filter for pursuing opportunities, it’s an imperative for 2026.

Choosing Your Firm's Growth Bets

A practical approach combines external data with internal reality:

• Scan external opportunity zones. Review 2026 market outlooks to determine your best opportunities. Ask yourself, “Where could I realistically become one of a short list of names people think of first in the next 12-18 months?”

• Overlay your existing traction. Identify where you already have anchor clients, recent high‑value wins, strong realization, or inbound interest over the last 12–24 months. Think about where client risk or complexity is clearly rising. Then, honestly assess for the areas where you are a credible choice versus just one of many.

• Narrow to 3–5 true bets. From that overlap, select a small set of bets with defined client profiles and matter types, and treat those as your growth engines. This shared language enables faster "in‑bet / out‑of‑bet" decisions when laterals, distressed teams, client moves, or AI‑related work appear.

Sometimes an outside perspective and a structured working session are all it takes to turn “we’ve been thinking about this” into a concrete plan you can actually execute. If you’re wrestling with what your firm’s growth bets should be—or how to make faster, better decisions around them, please reach out to Elizabeth Brick.