Matter profitability matters. Yet most firms struggle to measure it in a manner that is accurate, focused on the levers partners control, and inclines partners to take action. Using margin per-partner-hour (MPH) to measure profitability delivers on these objectives.
Microsoft's vow to make its outside lawyers bill nearly all their work under alternative fee arrangements caused a stir, given large law firms' traditional devotion to the billable hour. But for a growing number of mostly smaller firms, those anxieties highlight a Big Law business model they've already left behind.
Law firms may want to leverage a specific law firm management technology to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace, but might not want to purchase those tools outright. How are you equipping your firm to succeed both in the present day and into the future?
While there are many items and complexities to the new rule, this article focuses on the basic premise of why the rule was developed and adopted and the effect on the retirement landscape and the players involved.August 01, 2017Charles B. Blanton, Jr.
The law firm business model of the past is under attack. Slowly, private legal is responding with things like developing knowledge management systems, establishing jobs for data analysts who can establish pricing of services and beginning to look at ways to outline workflows and processes. Unfortunately, corporate clients are impatient and are beginning to push harder for improved efficiency and increased speed of service delivery.
By handling all involuntary terminations with professionalism and formality, law firms can limit the potential for conflict and give proper attention to the potential ethical and legal issues. Here are three tips for handling the transition of attorneys and staff from the firm.
How to Successfully Hire Lateral Partners
While a law firm asks for specific education, experience, contacts and portables at certain law firms, what if the candidates were to ask for their own list of must-haves? How would a firm measure up?
The two major challenges now facing lawyer management in many of these mid-size firms are: 1) how to motivate the non-entrepreneurial attorneys to achieve and to perform; and 2) how to retain the "over-achiever" attorneys so they will remain with the firm.
The role of chief strategy officer (CSO) — increasingly common in corporate America — has been adopted by relatively few law firms. Consultants say perceptions of what the position entails and whether it's necessary vary widely throughout the legal industry.
No longer are law firms the only option for clients with legal work; they now have a wider menu of providers from which to choose. But what are the contours of that Alternative Legal Services (ALS) market? How are these new providers being used by corporate clients and law firms? What's driving that usage? And what does it mean for traditional law firms?
