Law Firm Management

Now that the legal industry is reeling from losses, layoffs and downsizings, lateral hires are being run through an even more stringent gauntlet than ever before. Many firms now want to see business plans from all lateral partner candidates.

While the macroeconomics is more than a little intimidating, the good news is that researching the economy is not a complicated task. In fact, it can be much more straightforward than internal financial research (covered in the first part of this series) and research on the financial health of companies and industries (covered in the second part of this series). In this, the third and final part in the Researching the Economy series, we focus on a few key sources for macroeconomic information.

Who's doing what; who's going where.

Now that the legal industry is reeling from losses, layoffs and downsizings, lateral hires are being run through an even more stringent gauntlet. Many firms now want to see business plans from all lateral partner candidates.

When drafting a contract for a client, a lawyer knows to anticipate and address many issues that may arise under the binding agreement. Such attention avoids problems that may result from a breach or termination of the contract. However, in many cases, lawyers do not anticipate or address these concerns in their own agreements.

ATTORNEY MARKETING IN THE CURRENT ECONOMY - There's a big theme underlying current legal business headlines. And the underlying question is can large firms ever again support the notorious salary structures and leverage strategies of the past? My own experience confirms that mid-and smaller law firms clearly sense a chance to really thrive in this environment. For corporate and agency clients meeting with legal sales teams, the big firm "safety sell" may be neutralized as clients…

Being engaged in social networks has enormous value for your firm. Through them, you can establish thought leadership, find new recruits, provide a more efficient way for potential clients to find you online, and participate in and monitor discussions about the issues that impact your clients and your firm. The first thing you must do is create a social media policy ' or modify an existing policy that is free and available for you to borrow.

Incisive Legal Intelligence Surveys (formerly Altman Weil Publications') recently released its sixth look at the methods and philosophies of compensation in private law firms: The Survey of Compensation Programs in Law Firms. Data were collected during the last quarter of 2008. This article provides commentary on highlights from the partner compensation portion of the study.