Help Insulate Your Firm with Careful Year-End Planning
November 21, 2008
Notwithstanding the slowing economy, there are opportunities to strengthen the firm's finances and those of individual partners. The key in this or any year is careful tax planning — including year-end tax projections — that will help lessen federal and state tax liabilities, prepare for possible exposure to the alternative minimum tax, and discover potential ways to save and streamline.
How Healthy Is Your Inventory?
November 21, 2008
Savvy firms are expanding their tool kits to effectively manage the business of law. Inventory analysis is a critical component, and used wisely, can point to risks and trends early, preventing cash flow problems down the road.
'Standards and Premises of Value'
October 30, 2008
Appraisers are frequently utilized to assist matrimonial courts in determining the value of property subject to equitable distribution within a marital estate. Here's what you need to know about the all-important Standards of Value.
Resolving the Enigma of Law Firm Leadership
October 30, 2008
The first installment of this article in September addressed the necessity of law firm leadership. The conclusion discusses qualities needed in a manager.
The Future Value of Today's Inventory
October 30, 2008
Most law firm managers understand intuitively that the value of inventory (both WIP and A/R) degrades over time, but by how much and how quickly? The ability to understand and answer these two questions is the first step in preparing a realistic, forward-looking valuation model ' one that can identify opportunities and drive action.
A Discussion on Partner Capital
October 29, 2008
In a July issue of The National Law Journal, there was a lead article titled, "Firms Ask Partners to Pony Up." That article sparked questions from clients of our firm, Altman Weil, Inc., regarding law firm capital structures. This article pulls together a number of the issues we have been dealing with recently.
Law Firms 'Building a Case' for Automated e-Procurement Solutions
October 29, 2008
Procure-to-Pay automation technology has finally come of age as a user-friendly, flexible, and cost-effective strategic business solution. It is a solution that can ease pressures from the law firm partnership by decreasing the cost of doing business.
Value Behind the Business Process Patent Controversy
September 29, 2008
A decision in the controversial patent case <i>In re Bernard L. Bilski and Rand A. Warsaw v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office</i> is currently pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Nominally, at stake is the future patentability of business methods. In fact, the patent question is but the most visible element. The scope of the underlying topic is far greater. The case highlights the importance of the business processes that link global business networks and create value in the intangible assets that comprise approximately 70% of the average company's market capitalization.
