The demographics of the legal industry are clear – a very large cohort of baby boomer partners will be retiring over the next 20 years. In fact, by 2020 (eight years from now) half of the boomer cohort will be…
October’s law firm strategy topic of month was the value of client feedback. Our initial rationale for exploring this topic grew as a by-product of our June 2012 strategy question of the month. June’s survey focused on best practices in…
Our June 2012 strategy question of the month focused on best practices in strategic planning in law firms. One of the principle factors that distinguished the firms reporting the most success with strategic planning from those reporting the least success…
Our September Law Firm Strategy Question of the Month focused on the budget process. Specifically, this month’s quick survey identified the budgeting practices that are most useful in real world settings in law firms. As in past months, we also…
The budget process is right around the corner – at least for the vast majority of firms that are on a calendar year cycle. These quick monthly surveys are primarily intended to build a foundation of useful information and benchmarks…
The August 2012 law firm strategy question of the month focused on managing under productive partners – what approaches firms take to the issue; what works and what does not; and how the process plays out over time. In a…
Last month’s law firm strategy question of the month asked law firm leaders to create a ‘model partner’ (i.e., a partner with the optimal balance of positive characteristics). The ‘model partner’ results can be found in the July 2012 archives…
Our July law firm strategy question of the month focused on the characteristics that comprise a “model partner.” While crafting the balance of behaviors and traits of an ideal partner is a bit more fun (and bit less strategic) than…
This month’s strategy question is designed to be a bit of fun – but, in the service of a serious strategic issue. As law firm leaders are well aware, lateral movement by partners has increased dramatically over the past decade-plus.…
This month we are exploring the factors that make law firm strategic planning processes more or less effective. As always, the survey is designed to be quick and easy to complete (no more than a two minute investment). Deadline…
In the midst of the market meltdown in the fall of 2008, we were in the field doing research on behalf of DRI (Defense Research Institute) on the Future of Litigation. Alternative Fee Arrangements (AFAs) were one element of that…
Our March 2012 strategy question of the month focused on profit improvement strategies. One of most important strategies for profit improvement among firms is improving realization. In framing that question about realization, we explicitly included consideration of alternative fee arrangements…
One of the key findings of our April 2012 “strategy question of the month” involved the strategic importance practice groups (and filling out the practice group portfolio) have in determining law firms’ merger and acquisition strategies. In the write-up of…
Our April 2012 strategy question of the month focuses on strategic growth. The latest Am Law 100 found that headcount growth has resumed across the largest firms in the U.S. Further, those tracking law firm mergers found that activity in…
When the National Law Journal published the new NLJ250 (now expanded to the NLJ 350) in late March 2012, the headline was “For Large Firms, Time to Grow Again.” We certainly see an uptick in merger and acquisition activity among…
OVERALL FINDINGS This month we looked at law firms’ plans relative to profit improvement. Specifically, we asked law firm leaders which profit drivers they planned to use to improve profitability at their own firms over the next few years. We…
The results of our February 2012 strategy question of the month generated a number of follow-up discussions, as well as some very intelligent and insightful correspondence with readers. We thought it warranted a bit of follow-up here on the blog.…
Most law firm managers are familiar with the primary drivers of profitability – rates (i.e., the standard price per hour for professionals’ time); productivity (i.e., hours worked and recorded); realization (i.e., ability to collect on production at standard rates); leverage…
PRACTICE GROUP MANAGEMENT EFFECTIVENESS FEBRUARY 2012 STRATEGY QUESTION OF THE MONTH This month’s strategy question of the month focused on practice group management. Specifically, we looked at the question of whether there is a link between what we ask practice…
Our strategy question of the month for February focuses on practice group management. Specifically, we are asking law firm leaders to share their own experiences relative to what practice group leaders are expected to do at their respective firms. The…