Stop Making Partners
Four questions to ask yourself before conferring equity partner status on anyone else. My colleague Ed Wesemann recently published a must-read article titled “A Five Year Survival Plan for Mid-sized Firms.” Ed’s first piece of advice to the leaders of these firms is: “Stop making partners.” I think that’s absolutely correct, and I’d like to […]
5 Key Observations on Law’s Tectonic Shifts
Firms ignore these significant changes to the law-practice environment at their own risk. Any development that changes the rules and renders present practices obsolete is called a “destructive trend,” that is, something that utterly destroys the present way we think and do things, something that threatens to quickly alter the status quo. Over and again […]
Forget About Revenue
Profits are a better way to measure a law firm’s financial health. This article explores why so many firms are preoccupied with revenues instead of profit and what you can do about it.
Choosing Industry Leaders
Choosing and supporting an industry group leader requires care and attention.
Associate Dissatisfaction: The Chance that Clifford Took
On October 15, 2002, associates in the New York City office of Clifford Chance responded to a request for input from the firm’s partners with a memo–a very candid memo. Somehow, a copy got into the Financial Times of London and became public. The result has been pivotal for Clifford Chance and, maybe, the legal […]
The Management Imperative
by Gerry Riskin A leader can be forgiven for doing the wrong thing on occasion but what about failing to manage at all? In a corporate setting, this would be perceived as abdication and likely result in dismissal. In many law firms, however, leaders are excused from their management responsibilities… Continue reading by accessing the […]
Retirement Equity – Succession and Ownership In Law Firms
In the last thirty years, many firms have substantially grown or developed on the back of the efforts of one or more highly driven entrepreneurial partners, some of whom are now approaching retirement. These partners have enjoyed income rewards but it is understandably hard for them to contemplate having to hand over their firm as […]
Criteria And Guidelines For The Promotion And Admission Of Equity Partners
This White Paper suggests some essential steps which law firms should take to establish promotion criteria to equity partnership/membership and suggests a framework for promotions.
Control or Consensus?
Every law firm starts life with a flurry of entrepreneurial adolescence and adulthood, the unmet demands of strategic and managerial decision making can cause the firm to plateau or even regress. Identifying the four phases of law firm development can be the key both to avoiding premature stagnation and to progressing toward institutional status. I […]
Governance in the Growing Partnership
Governance structures in law firms are often outdated and ill-suited for further growth. Transition points are critical as properly constructed governance andmanagement can support the overall objectives of the firm. Good governance structures strike a balance with the firm’s strategy; corporate models offer some ideas for alternatives to the classic ‘partnership systems’. While every structural […]