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Warning Signs: How to Spot Partner Dissatisfaction and What to Do About It

By Joel A. Rose
October 01, 2003

By no means do the economic stability and steady growth of a legal practice ensure harmony in the partner ranks or, for that matter, the contentment of any single lawyer. Managing partners who breathe too easily when reassuring revenue or profit numbers get posted may endanger their firms by ignoring tell-tale signs of disharmony. Law firms have been known to go out of business amid strong financials just as precipitously as when those numbers tumble. Remember Shea & Gould?

The culture of a firm may be its greatest asset for identifying and pursuing both immediate and long-range objectives. Conversely, even as new clients pour in the door, the culture of a firm may be a minefield if it is bound to 1) outdated traditions (“because we've always done it this way”); 2) management styles that are dysfunctional and inconsistent with the desires and expectations of a majority of the partners, as well as the needs and priorities of the firm; or 3) anachronistic philosophies inherited from senior or departed partners that are dismissive of the marketing and compensation programs required to compete aggressively with other financially successful, proactive law firms.

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