Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Law by the Numbers

By Ed Poll
August 02, 2013

Statistical analysis can be a practical tool to help any lawyer measure personal and firm performance against objective standards. This makes “The Business of Law'” understandable ' and makes the firm stronger as a result. Every law firm is a business and every business should know where it's going. Lawyers who understand statistical analysis of their firm's operation can explore operating efficiencies, gauge the firm's performance relative to its financial goals, and better assess and reflect value to clients in their bills.

This can be a challenge because too often the firm's owners lack basic business knowledge. Even partners may not possess the business competency to calculate, or even understand, the traditional key measures of law firm performance: realization, utilization, leverage and expenses. Many don't know, or understand, the firm's collection rate ' or even their own personal one. This is not to say that lawyers are oblivious to all financial numbers. The trend of national legal magazines publicly reporting annual financial information for the biggest law firms has transformed the profession's outlook. For the first time there was comparative data on revenue per partner, earnings per partner, and similar measures. Unfortunately, just like companies trying to impress investors and competitors, law firms began to make decisions based on maximizing revenue and profits per partner ' and neglecting financial basics.

Declining Fundamentals

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws Image

This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.

Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin Image

With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.

The Article 8 Opt In Image

The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.

Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York Image

In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?

The Benefits of Blockchain for e-Discovery and Data Preservation Image

As businesses across various industries increasingly adopt blockchain, it will become a critical source of discoverable electronically stored information. The potential benefits of blockchain for e-discovery and data preservation are substantial, making it an area of growing interest and importance.