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Accounting and Financial Planning for Law FirmsFeaturesLaw Firm ManagementLegal Operations

Investing In Practice Management Can Pay Off for Partners, Talent and Clients

By By Mark Masson, Ed Estrada and Jay Russell
April 01, 2023

This article is part of a series from AFP's ALM sibling, The American Lawyer on practical, low-cost options to improve performance and profits amid tight budgets and layoffs.

The Backdrop

  • Demand for legal services has shifted dramatically and quickly from two years of unprecedented growth and profitability to deep uncertainty and threats of recession.
  • Firms have responded with tightening budgets, direct or indirect reductions in talent, and delays in large firmwide transformations and initiatives.
  • All the while, firm leadership and partners expect improved performance and even in times of recession, clients will demand certain types of legal services.
  • Layoffs are a common headline from technology companies, law firms, and others, an unfortunate reversion to the mean of talent norms after rapid recent hiring.
  • Law firm leadership teams are being forced to review all potential options to deliver high-quality service to clients, grow revenue, and do so in an efficient manner.
  • No/low-cost solutions: To help firms focus and remain competitive, there are a handful of places where firms can implement no/low-cost solutions that will set them up for immediate success.
  • Where to invest: Beyond the (hopefully) short-term economic headwinds, firms should keep their eye on the areas where continued investment is necessary for long term relevancy and growth. Yes, budgets are tight, but they are not completely gone.

A Focus on Practice Management

Firms of any size, but particularly larger firms, are a collection of lawyers with specialty areas of practice, organized, whether formally or informally, into groups (by clients, practices, sub-practices, offices, industry groups, etc.). While having many practices, geographies, and types of clients in a firm is healthy for diversification, it can be difficult to organize and manage dozens of these groups.

While the practice leaders, partners and lawyers in the practice know their clients best, they focus most of their time and energy on being legal experts. This is where practice, operations, and firm-level leadership need to provide focus, process and resources to help their legal experts deliver their unique value to clients.

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