As an interested observer of the legal landscape, there are three baseline realities that are especially interesting to explore:
• The rapid rate of law firm growth through mergers and lateral additions;
• The rate of law firm failures; and,
• A continuing level of unhappiness in the profession.
Given these three somewhat extreme
It is no wonder why a lot is written about law firm succession planning. Transferring a law firm onto the next generation so the institution endures is the ideal for most but unattainable for many. Sue Remley’s Succession Planning: How to Hand Your Law Firm to the Next Generation presents the issue clearly and
The century plus old quote “success begets success” couldn’t be further from the truth. Today success only buys you the opportunity to survive to compete tomorrow.
Lest you think otherwise, the legal profession is no exception. The intensity of competition in our industry increases daily. The marketplace is littered with once highly successful law
As we enter the New Year, chances are good you’re dealing with a predictable slate of demands on your time: setting compensation and budgets; managing details associated with the latest departure; and interviewing this week’s lateral prospect. All important activities, and worthy of serious attention; but none of these is likely to make the
At times, numbers will mislead. Bigger doesn’t always mean more. More doesn’t always translate to better.
A recent new client engagement reminded me of how tricky numbers can be; and why it is important for law firm leaders to rely on basic financial modeling at critical junctures.
A firm’s revenue can be one of
Reports vary on the degree to which the business of law is recovering or improving; but few question the fact that competitive pressures are growing, thanks to:
For years, a premise behind law firm growth was the recognition (or belief) that many clients required a broad range of services. Sensing a need, and wanting to meet it, law firm leaders sought to build not only bigger law firms, but also ones that offered many substantive specialties. As the thinking went, once a
The November edition of The American Lawyer includes an interesting article by Aric Press titled “Big Law’s Reality Check”. The article has implications for law firms of all sizes.
Press provides much fodder for thought; but these points, in particular, struck me as telling:
As the last quarter of 2014 nears its end, the ingredients for the lateral hiring stew are being added. Firm and individual lawyer performance on the year, bonus expectations and realization, internal law firm management and politics-all will be factors in determining individual lawyer contentment. The same factors, viewed from management’s perspective, will drive an
