| |
Introducing eAdvocates:
Your Connection to the Advocates Community
We are pleased to announce the first
edition of our quarterly e-Newsletter devoted to informing
you about trends in law firm management, best practices
gleaned from our work with hundreds of firms, and ideas
on how to grow your practice and hire the best people.
Our goal is to provide you with useful information and
to create an on-line community for sharing ideas and
best practices.
Please let us know how we're doing and what
you would like to hear about; if you wish to contribute
articles or submit jobs, please pass along this information
to editor@targetedlegal.com.
Law
Practice Management:
A Six-Step Path to Increased Profitability for Local
Firms
By Marcus
Ollig
Every year, The American Lawyer¹ publishes
its annual "Am Law 100,"² which rates the nation's top
100 firms in various categories, including size and
profitability. The Am Law 100 firms achieve their size
and profitability largely by dominating a variety of
high-level niches; playing in the largest corporate
markets in the world; wooing clients and matters that
support the highest legal fees; limiting the number
of equity partners; and delivering superb productivity.
But how can a small, or even a large, leading local firm improve its profitability and build a stable, growing organization in a smaller legal market? Obviously, the key is for these firms to bill more hours at a higher rate. This article proposes six key actions that law firms in any given market can take to maintain and raise their billing rates as they more fully leverage internal human capital:
- Differentiate
the firm by understanding and communicating its
value proposition.
- Focus
on strengths in terms of practice areas, service
delivery and niches.
- Hire
well and train attorneys at all levels;
stress to attorneys that service and rainmaking
are fundamental to the practice of law.
- Leverage
compensation and rewards programs
at every level.
- Employ
efficient decision-making structures.
Firms that have mastered the first five will be better
able to:
- Leverage
associates—productively employ at
least three associates for every one partner.
Read the Full Article and learn details about each action point
and how they can make a difference.
|
> Targeted Talking
Points |
| |
Great
Read Suggestion From ABA Journal
Legal
Futurist: ‘The Party is Now Over’
By
Debra Cassens Weiss
Our Thoughts:
This is a very interesting article about
the future of the legal business. It could
not be more timely, given the recent economic
downturn, the increased complaints from
legal departments about the steep increase
in hourly bill rates over the past few years
and increasing corporate cost cutting focused
on legal fees.
According to the article, futurist Richard
Susskind argues that the recent economic
downturn will accelerate trends in the legal
field to cut costs, including the proliferation
of offshore outsourcing of legal work, legal
call centers, on-line legal services and
other drastic ideas. It is an interesting
article, but I believe these trends will
more likely remain in the margins of legal
work. When huge changes come into any industry
it seems the predictions are always wilder
than the transformational changes, which
tend toward incremental shifts over time.
For example, corporate legal departments
want lower, more predictable fees, but the
nature of their work is such that they still
need a level of care and quality that law
firms are in the best position to provide.
However, the billable hour can reward the
wrong behaviors and means open-ended legal
costs to in-house counsel.
The "party" continues
for firms who embrace flat fee arrangements
and other predictable, risk sharing revenue
models
This is why we believe ideas like flat fee
arrangements loom on the horizon for many
areas of transactional and litigation work.
Firms who get there first stand to improve
profitability and gain clients, especially
in an economic downturn. They guarantee
a set price point for a given trial or transaction
and put the onus of efficiency back on the
law firm. They can benefit law firms tremendously
as well as long as they are managed correctly.
Let us know if you would like more information
about this or other trends we are seeing
across the country.
mollig@targetedlegal.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
| |
Dececember
19, 2008
8:30 AM - 4:15 PM
CLE Live Seminar
Private Equity: Down but not out - Waiting for the next
opportunity
Check
COBAR website for pricing and more info
|
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
| |
70%
percent of law firm partners are baby boomers, born
between 1946 and 1964.
Seemingly opposing snapshots of 2008 Legal Employment:
Even in a down year, Law firms grew in size by 4.3%
in 2008.
Jobs in the legal industry have shrunk 1.1%
since October 2007 to the lowest level December 2005.
Explanation:
The difference can be explained by the fact that the largest
law firms still added attorneys in 2008 on a net basis (as
did many smaller firms) while overall legal employment shrunk
as law firms laid off staff before lawyers. So far, we see
most of the significant layoffs for both attorneys and support
staff centered in "money center" markets.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
| |
“I have talked with a number of recruiting firms, and while many aspire to provide superior personal service – few deliver. However, you and your firm truly make good on that promise. You have far exceeded my expectations.”
Managing Partner
Denver Law Firm
|
|
|
 |
|
| |
Direct
Hire.
Retained Search.
Project/Temporary.
Post a Job.
Find out why our process
is the best in the biz and why we'll only send you three well
qualified applicants.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
| |
Pass
It On.
Share this article with your friends or let us know who might be interested in adding key talent or searching for a new career opportunity.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
| |
Contact
The Advocates at editor@targetedlegal.com
with comments, questions, articles, factoids and suggestions.
To unsubscribe, please
click
here. |
|
|
