To control costs and improve legal service, more client legal work has been brought in-house in recent years. As clients have achieved those twin goals, the proximity of readily available legal services to business decision makers has spawned greater institutional reliance on the captive legal departments. The increased access to legal services for company business
Andrew E. Jillson
A founding Director of Hayse LLC, Andrew Jillson is a veteran when it comes to advising law firms and other companies on the challenges and opportunities faced by an enterprise in transition. In more than 30 years as a lawyer, he has counseled across every industry, advising wherever personnel, operational, strategic and/or legal issues converge to necessitate organizational change.
Succession Planning as Financial Planning: Five Critical Components
Succession planning is an important issue for many law firms, especially as the Boomers and Generation Xers age and the human resource pyramid becomes an irregular shaped box. When you add in the assault on the industry from client competition, alternative service providers, and artificial intelligence, the necessity of doing succession right is more critical…
Is it Time? Five Developments That Demand Action from Law Firm Leaders
Running a law firm successfully is no easy task. It is a multi-dimensional effort that requires leadership, discipline, vision, and some luck. Getting all firm lawyers to row a boat in unison can be tough. Even if some of the oars irregularly go into the water, progress is still possible.
When attentive leaders work hard…
Rethinking Law Firm Succession-Five Reasons to Focus Differently
Law firm succession is a top of mind issue for today’s law firms. Making sure one generation of leadership can hand the reins off to the next generation is a key concern. Of course, it is not just having the right people in place to develop and execute sound strategies, but it also requires transitioning…
Law Firm Merger-A Way to Solve the Succession Dilemma
For many law firms, succession to the next generation presents a formidable and daunting challenge. Leadership may have been too busy to plan ahead for succession. Turnover at the firm may have dealt a blow to the goal of grooming someone to step in as the next leader. Sometimes the next generation’s business development abilities…
Achieving Stability and Longevity for Your Law Firm-Five Fundamentals
Almost daily, lawyers come together and open new law firms. High expectations accompany such births. With owners committing to work hard, promising to exercise given and acquired skills, and counting on a little (but not too much) luck, the newly created institution teases with the prospect of success.
The positive vibes at inception may be…
Law Firm Merger Checklist Item-Culture
The spring of 2018 has produced a spate of large law firm mergers. Despite this noticeable activity, the interest in mergers is not something new-over 600 mergers and acquisitions have closed since 2007. Based on the tactic’s popularity among firm leaders seeking a competitive edge, we can expect more mergers in the future.
For law…
Four Important Elements to Getting Law Firm Merger Right
Already 2018 has proven to be a time for law firm merger. Since the beginning of the year we have been treated to a constant series of announcements about law firms combining. And although law firm mergers have been part of the landscape for years, the increase in law firm mergers shows its growing popularity…
Law Firm Succession: Addressing the Most Important Issue
After years of success (by any number of measures), more than a few firm founders (or later generation leaders) confront succession. Some of them are simply ready to step back and enjoy life-turning their worries over to the next generation has great appeal. Others are driven by unanticipated developments-illness or family circumstances compel them to…
Five Key Metrics for Grading Your Law Firm’s Annual Performance
A law firm report card is a good thing. Much like a child’s school report card telling a parent how school is going, a law firm report card can inform firm leadership about its progress, shortfalls, and areas that need improvement. In these days of industry disruption and heightened competition, periodic assessments can give a…