Milking a Cash Cow
With all of the reporting capabilities of sophisticated time and billing systems, it is easy to lose sight of the most basic rule of law firm economics: Cash in must exceed cash out. To that end, one of the most valuable assets any business can have is a cash cow. Yet, we find that many law firms never benefit from practices that could be cash cows because they just don't seem to understand the concept. I know, it sounds pretty simple ' bleed as much revenue as you can out of practice areas in which your firm has a dominant position. But, somehow, we keep screwing it up.
Strategic Talent Acquisition: How to Be More Competitive in Recruiting Top Talent
It is a well-reported fact within the legal industry that law school enrollments have flattened in recent years, with total J.D. enrollments showing little or no growth since 2004. This trend, in combination with the significant and ongoing growth in the size of law firms, translates into an intensely competitive market for top law school talent. With only a few exceptions, firms throughout the industry are struggling to secure as many of the best candidates as they need and want. The widening gap between law firms' investments in campus recruiting and the resulting payoff in terms of candidate acceptances is driving law firms to take a harder look at their approach and strategy in law school recruiting. And the smartest of these firms are asking the hardest of questions: What is the best way to approach law school recruiting?
Best Practices, Productivity Tools Are Key to Higher Patent Returns
Today's innovation and brand-driven companies are well aware of the importance of intellectual assets ('IAs'). Few CEOs would deny the fact that a significant portion of their company's value is derived from intellectual property, especially patents. However, IAs represent a challenge for many corporate managers seeking to realize value in a world historically tied to 'hard asset' financial measures. Not only do most operating managers lack experience in systematic management of intellectual assets, but also they lack the necessary tools — such as agreed-upon accounting methods and standardized financial reporting for such assets. Not to mention the fact that most companies also lack even the most basic information systems needed to manage how intellectual assets are created, managed, and exploited.
MA Health Care Reform Law
On April 12, 2006, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ('Commonwealth') enacted legislation requiring most state residents to carry health insurance either through their employers or individually. The goal of the legislation is to 'provide access to affordable, quality, accountable healthcare' to everyone in the state, while reducing the percentage of uninsured residents to as close to 0% as possible. The reform law maintains employer-sponsored health insurance as the primary source of coverage for Commonwealth residents. While beneficial to employees, employers are faced with new obligations and the financial burdens of providing health benefits to employees. Employers that fail to provide health insurance to their employees may be subject to a surcharge of $295 annually per employee plus additional penalties.
News Briefs
Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.
Inside the Booming Private Equity Market: Experts Share Experiences at IFA Legal Symposium
Private equity investors eager to purchase franchise operations have brought a new dimension to franchising in the past few years and have the potential to keep franchising invigorated in the future. A panel discussion at the International Franchise Association's Legal Symposium in May explored the motivations of sellers and buyers in private equity deals and the role that legal counsel plays in getting deals done.
e-Commerce for Credit Managers
Collecting bills from firms that exist only on a computer server and monitors is becoming as much a part of Main Street in the 21st century as selling to the corner store was in the19th, and as selling to the mall store was in the 20th century. Suppliers to e-commerce firms, whether of inventory for resale online, or of servers or other equipment used in operations, must be paid, or they will cut off credit or sell only C.O.D.
e-Commerce Continues to Grow
The economy racked up another apparent e-commerce activity record in the first quarter, the U.S. Census Bureau reports. The government says that e-commerce sales, which include Internet and other electronically conducted transactions, rang up at a little more than $31.5 billion from January through March, plus or minus a 1.3% margin of error.
Where Does All That Associate Money Go?
Kathryn Cole, a 25-year-old who earned her J.D. last year from the University of Michigan Law School, accepted a position at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP in Silicon Valley. Her starting pay was $135,000, but before she even began working she got a $10,000 raise. Then in January, just a few months into the job, her salary went up another $15,000.
