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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
How to Build the Law Firm of the Future
Joel Wirchin
The onus is on law firm leaders to balance risk and opportunity. How can firms guide through an increasingly perilous landscape rife with opposing hazards to start building the law firm of the future today?
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Old Dog, New Tricks: Time to Retire Associate Lockstep Compensation
J. Mark Santiago
This article maps out a system that would enable law firm management to implement a meaningful pay-for-performance system that drives positive associate performance and enhances the firm’s culture.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
The Future of IRS Summonses After Supreme Court ‘Poselli’ Ruling
Jeremy H. Temkin
In Polselli v. Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously refused to limit the IRS’s ability to issue summonses without notice to situations in which it seeks records of accounts in which a delinquent taxpayer has an interest. This article discusses the court’s decision, Justice Jackson’s concurring opinion, and the potential for future challenges to the IRS’s issuance of summonses without notice.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Midsize Firms Outpace Am Law 200 In Key Growth Metrics
Justin Henry
While many of the country’s largest law firms contend with financial volatility that has resulted in financial declines and workforce overcapacity, the 20 midsize firms included in the Am Law 200 outperformed the 2023 Am Law Second Hundred in key financial metrics.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Law Firms Saw Moderate Revenue Growth In Q1 Despite Challenging Demand Environment
Gloria Gomez-O’Rourke and Mike McKenney
Strong inventory levels at the end of 2022 helped the law firm industry post moderate average revenue growth during the first quarter of 2023, though the demand environment remains challenging for law firms.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Why Law Firms and 3Ls Alike Should Consider Deferring
Hugh A. Simons
We can expect that soon some enlightened Big Law firms will level with their incoming associates (or at least the corporate ones) and explain that market conditions are such that the firm cannot assure them of the volume of work necessary for their normal growth and development and, accordingly, the firm is offering a stipend (and health insurance) to those who choose to defer for a year.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Financial Strategies that Improve Security and Optimize Your Technology Spend
Mike Henderson, Whitney Jones, and Bill Pitcairn
Shifting large IT purchases over to a predictable monthly expense is a pricing model that has taken over most industries with the introduction of cloud services, and this can be a particularly useful model during challenging markets.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Legal Operations Success In an Uncertain Economy
Ari Kaplan
In the uncertain economy that is characterizing the first quarter of the year, there remains a significant emphasis on demonstrating value to secure new resources.
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Marketing The Law Firm
Financial Strategies to Optimize Your Technology Spend
Mike Henderson, Whitney Jones, and Bill Pitcairn
Uncertain and challenging markets are times when firms and organizations of all types conserve cash. If this can be achieved without cutting needed projects, equipment or services to ensure successful returns to the office, then this is clearly an ideal financial strategy.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Despite Aggressive Rate Increases from Law Firms, Clients Have Room to Negotiate
Andrew Maloney
Rate increases across the legal industry haven’t been as big as the conventional wisdom implies, and clients have more room to negotiate than they probably realize.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Embedded Finance Is Changing the Business of Law
Kevin Gallagher
A revolution is underway in small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) banking and payments and will impact the way legal, accounting and other professional services firms manage their finances.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Expense Right-Sizing In a Challenging Economy
Rob Mattern
What strategies can law firms take to rein in expenses during a challenging, down market to avoid further layoffs? Look no further than the firm’s back-office operations. This article presents a brief overview of five areas where your firm can not just “cut costs” but actually improve operations while doing so — this is expense “right-sizing.”
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Improving Firm Profitability Through Contracts
J. Mark Santiago
The best and most effective way to drive firm profitability is through influencing partner behavior. The best way to incent the partners is by linking their compensation clearly and directly to the achievement of the firm’s business strategy.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Layoffs, Expenses and Return-to-Office Policies Top Worries of Law Firm Leaders In 2023
Andrew Maloney and Patrick Smith
While economic troubles and fears of a recession are top concerns for law firm leaders now, some shifts within the legal industry are also triggering alarm bells. Interviews with more than a dozen law firm leaders identified a growing list of challenges that law firm leaders are grappling with now,
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Why Are Some Bills Easier to Collect Than Others?
Alex Geisler
Why do some people sail through the entire budgeting, billing and collection process, while for others collection always means trepidation?
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Litigation Financing 2.0: Financing the Business of Law
Joshua Libling
It is not accidental that funding the creation or growth of law firms and practice groups has tended to follow a traditional path. Rather, this circumstance is a combination of traditional legal temperament and structural barriers to innovation. Recently, there have been changes to both.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Amending (or Terminating) Deferred Compensation Plans Without Penalties
Lawrence L. Bell
This article reminds readers of §409A’s draconian penalties and specific guidance of amending modifying, amending or terminating existing nonqualified deferred compensation plans.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
The Case for Having A Lawyer As Your Financial Planner
Bryce Sanders
The accounting industry picked up on this idea years ago when the big accounting firms set up subsidiaries offering management consulting services. Lawyers are in an ideal position to offer impartial investment advice because they are fiduciaries.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Billing Rates Have Increased, But Not Enough to Beat Inflation
Andrew Maloney
Law firm billing rates have increased across all law positions in 2022, but not necessarily enough to keep pace with inflation. That’s according to news reports that point to some more challenges for law firm profits.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Are We Over Thinking Office Return Strategies?
Anthony Davies
Routines based around ‘work from home’ are calcifying, and commuting, parking, sandwich shops and childcare are fading into distant memory. With each passing week, the challenge to win attorneys back into the office increases.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Recession Proofing A Law Firm
Melissa “Rogo” Rogozinski
Whatever term the economists use to describe the slowing pace of commerce, the real question is: how do you protect your law firm’s revenue stream when economic pressures are causing current and prospective clients to tighten their budgets?
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Marketing The Law Firm
The Four Legal Sales Strategies
Eric Dewey
The ‘best choice’ provider pitch may not be the optimal sales strategy. It's better to adjust to where the prospect is in their buying decision process — whether that means they are looking for providers, they are studying the situation, they already have counsel, or they have decided not to address the issue.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Law Firms May Make ‘Course Corrections’ to Battle Inflation
Andrew Maloney
If inflation remains at current levels, law firm billing rate increases won’t be able to keep pace. But firm leaders may make other “course corrections” to capture profits through the end of 2022, analysts say, by utilizing leverage and alternative pricing models and making additional investments in technology.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
The 2022 GC Compensation Survey: Pay Spikes After Pandemic Pause
Phillip Bantz
Pay for the nation’s most powerful legal chiefs has rocketed back into the stratosphere following a slump amid corporate austerity measures during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic — and a familiar name has reclaimed this year’s cash king crown.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
The Great Unbundling: Do Law Firms Need to Re-think Outsourcing Strategies?
Anthony Davies
Service “‘bundling” provides economies of scale, lower overheads, a single point of contact and a single invoice at the end of each month. However, the bundling of services to create a single multi-service provider may now be hurting firms who are increasingly looking for specialization, especially with regards to onsite workplace experience services.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Top Law Firms Look to Invest Profits In Future Success
Dan Packel
There’s no doubt that much of the legal industry’s profit gains are simply the result of surging demand. But smart firms were also able to harness booming demand to push through rate increases, owing to clients who were desperate to see their deals go through. There’s no doubt that the firms taking advantage of this confluence are in an enviable position. That doesn’t mean they are sitting on their laurels.
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The Bankruptcy Strategist
The Interplay Between Vendor Finance Agreements and Bankruptcy
Ann Pille, Richard Tannenbaum, Alexis Leventhal and Emily Costantinou
While regularly used among lenders, manufacturers, and dealers, treatment of Inventory financing program agreements in bankruptcy is not uniform, and uncertainty exists with respect to how such agreements may be treated in the context of a manufacturer’s Chapter 11.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Current Economic Climate Likely to Cause Law Firms to Offer Flexible and Creative Fee Arrangements
Nicole R. Rekant and Stevan J. Pardo
The current economic climate will incline lawyers, specifically litigators, to rethink their fee structures. With inflation at a 40-year high, residential and commercial rents rising, and a predicted looming recession, clients are tightening their budgets, but also demanding the same level of service and results from their attorneys.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
After Another Big Year, Law Firms Should Plan for Recession
J. Mark Santiago
Planning for the downturn in a clear, methodical way by investing the existing good fortune that most firms enjoy into strengthening your technical infrastructure, trimming expenses, and rethinking how administrative services are delivered to the attorneys.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Know When to Hold ’Em And Know When to Fold ’Em: 4 Questions to Ask When Thinking of Merging
J. Mark Santiago
Deciding to merge is a process that is best undertaken when a firm has as much information as possible about what their objectives and desired outcome is. Developing that information is best achieved by answering four questions.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
New Approaches to Outsourced Labor
Ben Schmidt
Employees are the lifeblood of an organization. Companies, including law firms, are rightfully attempting to navigate what the past two years have meant to the labor force and make sense of the changes to the landscape so that they can successfully manage their businesses. Included in this mix are outsourcing service providers.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
The Biden Administration’s 2023 Budget: Déjà Vu All Over Again
Lawrence L. Bell
The Treasury’s Greenbook commenting and explaining budget recommendations for FY 2023 raises warnings of tax increases. But what are the odds Congress passes anything before the midterm elections this November? This article presents a summary of the proposed tax increases and the likelihood of these provisions being enacted into law.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Law Firms Reviewing Contracts to Battle Inflation
Phillip Bantz and Trudy Knuckles
As inflation worsens, legal chiefs and their in-house teams are stepping up and finding ways to help their companies tamp down a vast array of price hike fires. And a significant part of that work is reviewing contracts with service providers, clients and other business partners.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Ensure Financial Health Ahead of an Economic Downturn
Derek F. Meek and Hanna Lahr
Proper planning is key to ensuring a company’s financial health when facing an economic downturn. Although companies will come into such planning with different levels of financial health, the same considerations can be helpful in determining the best path forward.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Law Firm Profits Soared In 2021, Despite Increased Expenses
By Gretta Rusanow, Gloria Gomez and Scott Kesselman
Strong demand growth led to a war for talent, but it was also a major driver of the industry average double-digit revenue growth seen in 2021.
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The Bankruptcy Strategist
Corporate Resiliency Revisited: Ensure Financial Health Ahead of an Economic Downturn
Derek F. Meek and Hanna Lahr
now is a critical time for companies to reassess their business and finances if they have not already, so that they can be prepared for the future. Proper planning is key to ensuring a company’s financial health when facing an economic downturn.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Are Lawyers Packing More Billables Into Less Time?
Andrew Maloney
Are lawyers working harder than ever? Recent figures in the legal industry show only a slight increase last year in the number of average hours billed per lawyer. Yet analysts and firm leaders say the total amount of hours worked — not just billed — is likely higher,
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Tax Implications of Budget Reconciliation Bill
Lawrence L. Bell
Part Two of a Two-Part Article
This installment discusses how to use benefit laws that have been on the books for over 30 years to fund not only death benefits but also alternatives to deferred compensation for business and estate planning purposes for pass-through entities.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Sales Enablement: The Next Big Thing In Legal Services?
Eric Dewey
Sales enablement is how law firms can take control of their business development and marketing processes and improve the effectiveness of their revenue growth initiatives.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Data Analysis Is Cementing Important Role In Law Firms Talent Evaluation
Patrick Smith
As more law firms embrace the power of mining data to inform talent-related decisions, some have predicted that Big Law hiring could become like modern Major League Baseball: A data-centric endeavor that trusts the numbers, and those who know how to interpret them, over all else.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Remote Work Yields Savings, But Watch for Tax and Jurisdiction Issues
Troy Ayala
While the rapid ascent of home offices may have initially come as a shock to more than a few corporate cultures, the truth is that business leaders who embrace long-term remote working can yield significant cost savings and boost employee morale.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Tax Implications of Budget Reconciliation Bill
Lawrence L. Bell
In this two-part article, we look at the proposed tax law changes in the budget reconciliation bill — the major legislation in 2021.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
How Law Firms Can Gain a Competitive Advantage With Financial Intelligence
Ari Kaplan
The results of a new report — Implementing Financial Intelligence to Give Law Firms a Competitive Advantage in 2022 and Beyond — revealed a striking shift in the role of law firm finance leaders, both in their value and impact. Many are using data to drive change in their organizations, amplifying the power of profitability, and leveraging their skill to fuel innovation. Ultimately, they are helping their firms gain a competitive advantage.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Build Back Better: Considerations for Tax Advisers & Planners
Lawrence L. Bell
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed by the President on Nov. 15, 2021, presents a number of issues for advisers, planners and taxpayers to consider.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Messaging on Growth Important to Attract Top Talent and Prospective Clients
Jesse Dungan and Nicole Tackley
By keeping these communication tips in mind, firm leaders can ensure that their most important stakeholders understand the significance of their expansion and why it is a win-win for the firm, its people and its clients.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Rate Hikes Threatening Trusted Status with Clients
Dan Packel
After years of clients working to trim their roster of firms to a trusted group that understands the specific challenges of their businesses, rate hikes are threatening to upset these delicate relationships.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
How Should Law Firms Use Their Windfall of Profits?
Patrick Smith
After many firms experienced a highly profitable 2020 and sky-high demand levels in 2021, they found themselves with more cash than usual. While more than enough Big Law money has been lavished on associates and laterals recently, those aren’t the only ways firms are spending their riches.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Leading Through Disruption
Julia Mercier
Some tried and true leadership practices for firms and partners who are focused on retaining and developing top talent in the current context.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Registered Nurses In a Top Hat Plan
Lawrence L. Bell
As the healthcare industry is emerging from the pandemic they are looking for ways to reward, retain and recruit a very important segment of its people — Registered Nurses. Employers are looking for ways to provide benefits in an economically efficient fashion that does not create an immediate and punitive tax on the participant.
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Accounting And Financial Planning For Law Firms
Enabling Monetization of Non-Monetary Victories
Russell Yankwitt and Anxhela Mile
This article proposes language to include in retainer agreements to enable the monetization of non-monetary victories and compensate attorneys for all their work on behalf of their contingency clients.
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