Bold headlines tend to focus on the spectacular failures. But consequential transition — even crisis — are equally traumatic for the small to medium sized law firm. Given the fact that fewer partners must carry the load, the impact across the smaller firm may be even more intensely felt.
If you are part of the
One current report signals that the legal services market is suffering from a decline in demand. Reed Smith’s inabilities to keep its full complement of lawyers busy lead it to layoff 45 lawyers recently. According to Peter Zeughauser of the Zeughauser Group, other firms have been stealthily bleeding layoffs here and there for
(This post previously appeared on January 15, 2015 and noted some of the similarities between marital divorce and one of the more extreme forms of law firm transition-breakup. As we reach the end of 2015, for some firms the joy of another year completed may be supplanted by the tension and stress that often
Succession planning is an issue that many law firm managers worry about. They ask whether their firm has done enough planning, whether the pool of successors is deep and whether the firm will be stable when transition to new leadership happens. Because succession planning is so important to many of today’s law firm leaders, we’ve
One of, if not the key responsibility of a law firm leader is ensuring that the viability of the firm is not threatened. No doubt, one of the primary threats to law firms today is excessive debt.
Clearly it is a rare business that functions without incorporating some form(s) of debt as part of
Every single business, if it is around long enough, will face a time of crisis. Law firms are no exception.
Whether a series or a single event, crisis comes with a handful of pivotal moments. Mishandled, these moments can threaten the very existence of any organization.
If you’re managing a law firm you know that
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
Other than when a firm is being formed, there is no better or more organic time to test a law firm’s continued commitment to one another than when nearing the expiration of an office lease.
Typically, when a firm is formed, two or three or a handful of individuals gravitate to one another, become increasingly
As we continue to see law firms fail, and dramatic efforts at restructuring continue at a heady pace, market analysts can’t help but look for a common denominator. Is there a quantifiable predictor of tomorrow’s troubled law firm?
While a number of things can push a firm into a transition mode, there seems to be
Most law firms approach their practices optimistically-with a kind of “glass is half-full” outlook. Getting business, building client relationships and creating a brand typically are a firm’s focus rather than thinking about failure or disaster. That is especially so when law firms form. Future developments like mass departures or dissolution usually do not enter into
