Building a Comp Plan That Works
August 12, 2003
On a recent visit to Altman Weil management consultants in Newtown Square, PA, I met with James D. Cotterman, a longtime contributor to (and just-retiring Editorial Board member of) this newsletter. Jim was the lead author and editor of both the 2nd and 3rd editions of the ABA-published book <i>Compensation Plans for Law Firms</i>. Regrettably I can't share with you Altman Weil's excellent hazelnut coffee, but I hope you'll enjoy the following condensed excerpts from our conversation about Jim's book. With Jim's concurrence, I've also prettied up my sketched notes on some compensation system and profitability interrelationships explained in the book; these flow diagrams appear on pages 2 and 5.
Avoiding Extinction in a Turbulent Legal Market: Financial Hygiene Perils
August 05, 2003
The early days of 2003 have brought a stark reminder to the leaders of law firms: While strong law firms have experienced an exceptional level of prosperity and growth in a consolidating market, continued expansion and ever increasing profitability are not the only potential destinies for law firms today. As the high profile closures of long established firms such as Brobeck; Peterson & Ross; Hill & Barlow and others demonstrate anew, firms can fail.
Progress in Standardizing Law Firm Invoices
August 05, 2003
The legal and accounting professions have made significant strides in defining standard invoice data codes as well as formats for law firm electronic invoices. The standards bandwagon has been in no danger, however, of tipping over from too many community members hurriedly jumping on it.
E-Invoicing: A Client Perspective
August 05, 2003
Our legal department at Atlantic Bank of New York was looking for an electronic invoicing system to make our outside counsel billing process more manageable. What we found was new technology and software that enabled us not only to improve the overall efficiency of our system but also to implement an invoice discounting policy that saves us money and gets our outside counsel paid quickly. Because the new invoicing system lets us turn invoices around so quickly, we have achieved such significant savings that we expect the invoicing system to pay for itself within just a few years.
E-Invoicing: A Law Firm Perspective
August 05, 2003
As argued in the accompanying article on one corporate law department's initiatives, implementation of electronic invoicing software should ideally be a win-win improvement benefiting outside law firms as well.
The USA Patriot Act and Private Equity Funds
August 03, 2003
The Patriot Act was signed into law by President Bush on October 26, 2001. Title III of the Act impacts the anti-money laundering provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The amendments were made to promote the prevention, detection, and prosecution of international money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Guard Your E-business Against Tech Pitfalls With Software Escrow
August 01, 2003
This article is one of a series on using software escrow to protect e-business, a topic that's well discussed in the e-trade business and one that generated a lot of buzz at the recent Computer Law Association conference in Washington, DC.
Creating Ethics and Compliance Programs That Work with Sarbanes-Oxley
August 01, 2003
Last month, we discussed how brightly the spotlight is shining on ethics and compliance programs. We explained that Sarbanes-Oxley has a provision that provides Federal protection for employees of SEC registrants who report wrongdoing to the government and/or law enforcement. The Act has created a situation in which anyone who reports wrongdoing to the government and/or law enforcement is protected from employer retaliation under Federal Statute. And we urged that companies assess the effectiveness of their ethics and compliance efforts.
Key Considerations in Choosing a Survey
August 01, 2003
Part One of this article offered a general overview and comparison of the major surveys currently available for US law firms (Altman Weil's "The Survey of Law Firm Economics"; Hoffman Alvary's "The Flash Report on Law Firm Economics"; and Pricewaterhouse Coopers' "The Law Firm Statistical Survey"). Part Two offers advice on how to select a survey.
