If you want to increase law firm profitability, you have to track it relentlessly and share the results of your analysis widely. Although profits-per-partner has become a widely known metric for large law firms, most smaller firms don’t track profits assiduously. There is a world of difference between having your accountant calculate profits at […]
The biggest news story of 2020 has been, of course, the pandemic. But that hasn’t been the most significant trend impacting law firms. COVID-19 sped up quite a few processes already unfolding in the world of professional services and in the economy at large, including the growing gap between small businesses and major corporations. Along […]
With a new year on the horizon, you may be thinking about how you can raise revenues. It’s common to consider upping your hourly rates or flat fees annually, but there are right and wrong ways to go about this. As we talked about last year, a simple “Happy New Year! We’ve raised your rates!” […]
Many businesses formally invest in research and development (R&D) to improve products and services and to stay competitive. This is, in many ways, an unremarkable notion, but law firms have largely ignored it. This is even true for law firms that represent business clients and other entities where the potential for repeat business exists. If […]
Boies Schiller Flexner has been the subject of a steady stream of articles over the past year which suggest the firm might be facing some cash flow issues. Bloomberg reported in July that the firm was the only one in the Am Law 100 to receive funding from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, […]
My aunt, Deborah Lancaster, was a pioneering lawyer from whom we could learn a lot about managing our careers and lives. After her notable work for the Attorney General of the State of Israel, she in the early 1960s moved with her young son to the United States, where she earned her American law degree […]
Today’s post covers a very specific scenario. We’ve talked before about filling out Lateral Partner Questionnaires (LPQs) as a non-equity partner and how to present your portable book of business when that information will have direct bearing on the compensation offered to you. The very specific scenario we’re touching on today is a lateral move […]
The dust has yet to settle on the election, but it’s not too early to identify specific impacts the results could have on law firms and the legal services industry. Below are five ways this election could affect law firms. A win for Biden-Harris is also a big win for large law firms and […]
When you charge higher hourly rates than most of your competitors, it’s important to understand how you can effectively justify this number to prospective clients. The first rule of quoting fees to potential clients is not to mention a specific hourly rate until you and the client have discussed what is at stake for them. […]
With an increasing number of lawyers (especially partners) changing firms, procedures relating to such moves have become more standardized. Most notably, the use of a Lateral Partner Questionnaire (LPQ) is now commonplace, particularly among larger law firms. The LPQ helps lawyers and the firms to which they might be moving address key financial issues and […]