Features

Law Firm Revenue Rose as Demand Dropped in the First Quarter of 2019
The legal industry saw greater revenue growth during the first quarter of 2019 than it did to start the strong year of 2018. However, the drivers of that growth were much different, as the demand growth that characterized 2018 gave way to a demand decline during the first quarter of 2019, and much of the revenue growth came in the form of cash collections from 2018 inventory.
Features

Law Firm Mergers and the Economic Outlook for 2019
As law firms endeavor to survive in an increasingly competitive world, one strategy picking up steam is the law firm merger. In this article, we recap law firm merger activity in 2018 and consider the economic outlook for law firm mergers for 2019.
Features

IRS Issues New Plan 457(f) Non-Profit Exam Guidelines
Planning for executive benefits for top hat employees at non-profit organizations has undergone a frenzy of regulatory roadmap changes. Nonprofit NonQualified Benefits are largely directed and controlled by IRC §457.
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Orion Prebill Survey Shows Law Firms Are Troubled by Inefficient, Paper-Heavy Prebilling Processes
Prebilling, the process of generating invoice drafts and circulating them for annotation/adjustment, is one of the most important monthly tasks a law firm conducts. Since prebilling involves bringing money into the firm, the more efficient the process becomes, the better off the law firm is financially.
Features

Best Ways to Expand Key Client Relationships from the Lawyers' and Firms' Perspectives
Part One of a Two-Part Article This article defines the specific and best actions lawyers and law firms can take to expand client relationships. This first part includes specific actions individual lawyers can take to expand client relationships.
Features

Clients Drive Information Governance: Business Benefits Flow to Firm
Information governance and the protection of corporate data are top concerns for law firms. To ensure standards are met, some clients are now tying payment to compliance with Outside Counsel Guidelines (OCG). OCG have moved from guidelines to actual contracts that provide for indemnification of the client for cyber breach and violation of privacy laws.
Features

Sales Speak: Overcoming the Doer-Seller Dilemma
<b><i>Rethinking Sales As an Act of Service</b></i><p>Lawyers are one of only a handful of professionals whose job requires them both to do the work and generate the business. This “Doer-Seller” Dilemma is particularly vexing for lawyers because of a long-held belief that sales is somehow beneath the legal profession and because lawyers have a limited view of what successful selling looks like.
Features

Creating a Culture of Intelligence
We hear about the ongoing cost pressures clients face, which force in-house counsel to do more with less, and the pressures on outside counsel to provide greater efficiencies and cost predictability. We also hear that clients hate to be cross-sold. However, this does not mean that clients are not interested to be introduced to new colleagues who can provide insight.
Features

Why Should Law Firm CMOs Care About Social Responsibility and Sustainability?
<b><i>Because Clients Do</b></i><p>Given the increasing challenges facing our planet and our society, and considering our role in creating the current state of affairs, it is up to us to change the way we do business to slow and reverse the damage. CMOs can and should be among the leadership voices to help their firms recognize this as an obligation and an opportunity.
Features

Key Tax and Financial Considerations for New Law Partners
Being asked to join the partnership of a firm is a measure of success as a legal professional. With that achievement comes tax and financial responsibilities that, surprisingly, few attorneys are fully prepared to deal with. These responsibilities include the unexpected individual federal and state and local tax filing and payments.
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