In a newly posted piece, Casey Sullivan‘s Law Firm Mergers Reach Highest Point in Nearly a Decade reports that 2016 is to be yet another record year for law firm mergers. As the cascade of announcements show (as well as the Altman Weil research compiled in its Mergerline), merger as a law firm
Law Firm Merger: Five Compatibility Metrics
To merge, or not to merge? That is the question. More and more law firms face that issue these days. We often advise law firms facing that watershed possibility and take them from considering merger in the abstract to addressing its reality. But because roughly 50% of mergers reportedly fail, properly evaluating a potential
Law Firm Management and Raising Rates: A Short-term Solution that Needs Some Long-term Thinking
Sara Randazzo’s recent How Can Law Firms Increase Revenue? Charge More reported about some law firms dealing with revenue demands by increasing the rates that they charge. Increasing 
rates, especially at a time when demand for legal services is tepid at best, seems counter-intuitive. But for some law firm leaders, the need to
More Innovation for Law Firms Coming-How it Will Change Your Practice
As staid and conservative lawyers and their profession may seem, it is undeniable that change is a part of their world. The change that has confronted the legal profession since the collapse of 2008 has garnered a lot of press, but lawyers and their firms have had to adjust to an altering world for a
Lawyer Exodus From the Law Firm: Don’t Get Mad, or Even, Get Focused
Unexpected lawyer departures from a law firm are a far too common occurrence as noted by Above the Law’s recent reporting on K&L Gates. It can happen at any time during the year but many times peaks around the end of a fiscal year. Whether it be disappointing financial results, political infighting, loss
Meeting the Challenges Ahead: Law Firm Success in Transitional Times
For followers of the law firm industry, there never is a shortage of opinions about its current state or what the future holds. True to form, the recent publication of Professor Ben Barton’s Glass Half Full: The Decline and Rebirth of the Legal Profession is a provocative take on where the law firm world
Law Firm Succession Planning 2015: Leadership’s Hidden Challenge (Part Two)
As discussed in my last post, Law Firm Succession Planning 2015: Leadership’s Hidden Challenge (Part One), the confluence of upbeat economic news with generational differences in the lawyer ranks presents a problem for law firm leaders not having an institutional succession plan. The issue is not just theoretical-Altman Weil’s 2015 Law Firms in
Law Firm Succession Planning 2015: Leadership’s Hidden Challenge (Part One)
Altman Weil’s 2015 Law Firms in Transition report recently came out and as usual it offers interesting and valuable information about the law firm industry as well as the perceptions and attitudes of law firm leaders. One fact noted by AW in its report is that in 2015 much of the industry is enjoying
No Muss No Fuss Law Firm Closure
Growth among law firms generates headlines. Legal publications report on a merger here, a planting of a law firm flag there and the lateral moves of significant practice groups. The thing about growth is that it is a planned exercise-an initiative that is a matter of choice based on strategy. The opposite of growth, a
Five Important Objectives For Law Firms Dealing with the Generational Challenge in Succession Planning
Passing on leadership to the next generation at small to medium law firms can be a challenge. These firms give themselves the greatest chance of success for eventual transition if they identify future leadership early and take the time to nurture the best prospects before succession presents itself. Taking on this blocking and tackling is