Part One of a Two-Part Article
Managing partners and members of executive committees in the most successful law firms strongly support the concept of having Practice Group Leaders (PGLs) assume a major role in their firms' efforts. Here's why.
Making partner isn't cheap, and the cost is more than just the years of hard work and stress that associates put in as they reach for the brass ring.
Through the process of conducting exit interviews with the good attorneys who have left, along with those the firm has asked to leave, you can gather intel about your firm's culture. The business justification for doing exit interviews is to learn about and improve systematic organizational or interpersonal issues that may be adversely impacting your firm.
Matter profitability matters. Yet most firms struggle to measure it in a manner that is accurate, focused on the levers partners control, and inclines partners to take action. Using margin per-partner-hour (MPH) to measure profitability delivers on these objectives.
Economics tells us an industry that experiences a drop in aggregate demand, adds production capacity, and increases the market overlap among competitors will suffer price erosion and profitability decline. Law firms fit this profile. Yet, in talking with law firm partners, you don't get the sense that any such "disruption" is happening. Perhaps economics has bypassed law?
Cyber attacks and theft are on the rise around the country, and law firms are becoming prime targets. Unlike manufacturers, banks and retailers, law firms are unique organizations that are highly vulnerable.
Discussion of a survey that highlights what the client is really thinking, and how law firms can effectively respond.
One aspect of law firms that is becoming increasingly of interest to clients — and an area that might offer opportunities for differentiation — is law firm commitment to increasing and sustaining diversity.
What is missing in driving revenue growth at law firms is accelerating leadership. It is one of 12 exceptional management practices that firms should focus on, including branding, building client value, strategy, team building, and so forth.
Law firms may want to leverage a specific law firm management technology to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace, but might not want to purchase those tools outright. How are you equipping your firm to succeed both in the present day and into the future?
