Features

<b><i>The Numbers Say Yes, But Not for the Reasons Many May Think</b></i><p>Conventional wisdom has it that mergers enhance profitability through increased revenues and reduced costs. However, the numbers contradict this view: post-merger revenues are lower relative to competitor firms than are the sum of the predecessor firms' revenues, and costs per lawyer increase markedly.

Features

<b><i>The Growth of Third-Party Litigation Funding Has Been a Boon to Small Firms, But Boutique Firms Are Taking a Hit</b></i><p>The growth of litigation funding has widened the pool of law firms that can take on big cases, but their increasing popularity means boutique firms that have traditionally landed multimillion-dollar lawsuits by taking them on contingency or offering alternative fee arrangements are now taking a hit.

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Though traditionally considered laggards when adopting new technology, law firms have recently started to explore new tricks to fortify performance across their organizations. While this evolution is critical to a firm's survival, it's important that firm administrators understand that substantive improvements are only possible through multi-directional change.

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Failure to increase senior billing rates differentially, and thus to rebalance the source of margin from junior to senior lawyer time, will result in a calamitous decline in profitability. It can be avoided if firms start now to gradually change their billing rate structures.

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Will law firms' financial results for 2017 fall short of 2016? Legal industry results through the first nine months of 2017 suggest that's a real possibility.

Features

<b><i>After Years of Complacency About Their Business Model and the Pipeline for Talent, There's a Reason Law Firms Are So Worried About Managing the Millennial Generation</b></i><p>For law firms wringing their hands about how to manage the millennial generation — or asking why they should adapt to this crop of young lawyers in the first place — here's the bad news: If you're still clinging to traditional models for training associates and running the partnership, you've already fallen behind. The millennials are here, they're climbing the ranks, and they've already begun to transform the industry.

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It is widely recognized that Big Law has surplus partner capacity. What is less well recognized is just how massive this surplus has become, how unevenly it is spread across firms in different profitability cohorts, and what it portends for when the next downturn hits.

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As firms turn their focus to revenue generation, some of the more progressive firms look to their clients to help them create their strategic priorities. In some cases, they even ask their clients to be involved in the planning process.