I’ve received several requests to outline a good pathway to Partnership. (I’m referring here to Equity Partner). A pathway is critical because there are a lot of lawyers (and owners) set to retire in the coming ten years. Properly preparing for Partnership and being prepared to run what is often a multi million-dollar business was [...]
In over 30 years of working with law firms on improving productivity and profitability, I’ve seen countless marketplace surveys on the incredible value of client feedback mechanisms. In many instances it’s been labelled as one of the fastest and most effective ways to boost firm revenue. So, you’d think that law firms would be all [...]
I was recently asked how a law firm management philosophy relates to the strategic planning process. It was a great question, because how we manage a firm (or plan to manage a firm) must either be aligned with firm culture, or set out to consciously adjust firm culture. So how we plan sets the tone [...]
(This article first appeared in SLAW, earlier this year) My son recently announced that the small law firm website design company he works for will be giving up their trendy office space in Vancouver’s Gas Town and permanently moving to a remote work environment. He was ecstatic, as he LOVES working from home. But my [...]
I’ve written about this in the past but it merits repeating. As you critique your past year and prepare to make plans for the year coming, consider one of the best ways to improve your efficiency and promote productivity in the firm. Professional legal managers (office manager or COO, Accounting Manager, Marketing Manger, HR Manager, [...]
In my last post, I talked about predicting our shifting client base. Today I’m going to touch on the shifting demographics of our talent pool – lawyers and staff. I’ve been researching demographic shifts in the US for a client, and came up with some surprising statistics. For example: For the next 20 years in [...]
As part of my strategic planning process with clients, I conduct interviews with each lawyer and a representative group of staff. One of the many questions I ask them is this: how will your client base shift in the coming five years, and how might that affect how you will provide legal services to them? [...]
Recruiters make a lot of money helping to place Associates in law firms. It’s a great service, but their motivation places emphasis on movement in the marketplace rather than stability. And movement follows because most Associates don’t really know what they’re looking for and how to assess if firms have those things. And most law [...]
Despite hiccups on vaccine receipt and distribution, we now know that by the end of the year, there’s a very good chance we’ll all be back to normal. That means there’s still another considerable block of time to get through first. We don’t want to be in either survival or neutral mode forever. So as [...]
Lawyers are some of the most intelligent people in this country. But from a business management perspective, I’d put them in the bottom 50%. That’s because lawyers don’t like to plan, they don’t like to ask how they are doing, and they don’t like change. But mostly, it’s because when they do get good advice, [...]