The Boutique – An Excellent Alternative for Labor and Employment Partners | BCG Attorney Search

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The Boutique – An Excellent Alternative for Labor and Employment Partners

By Jamie Bailey

I have had the privilege of working with a number of labor and employment partners who are seeking to depart general practice firms for a variety of reasons.  Some of the reasons partners are leaving include:  demanding billing rate structures, conflicts and practice profitability pressures.  Labor and employment boutiques offer excellent alternatives for partners seeking to leave general practice firms.

Rate Structures.  Often labor and employment partners in the largest general practice firms not only feel the pressure to increase their rates for long-term clients, but also to dramatically increase their billable hours and books of business.  In some cases, this is doable if the firm at which they are practicing has a strong (and busy) corporate client base, and provides excellent cross-selling opportunities internally.  Unfortunately, not all firms are as successful in encouraging cross-selling as others and in a depressed economy where corporate departments may be suffering, cross-selling to corporate clients becomes a significant hurdle for many labor and employment partners.  Since labor and employment boutiques can often be more accommodating to lower billing rate structures and alternative rate arrangements, they are excellent alternatives to general practice firms.

Conflicts.   As general practice firms continue to grow and expand, conflicts become more and more prominent for partners who may be interested in bringing in new clients with labor and employment needs.  It is unlikely that a labor and employment partner will face the same types of conflicts situations in a boutique environment.

Profitability Pressures.  With increased billing rate pressures and firms focusing on the bottom line, many labor and employment partners with slightly lower billing rate structures are under tremendous pressure at general practice firms which typically don’t view labor and employment practices as huge profit centers.  Thus, the national labor and employment boutique environment can present a very healthy alternative for a partner experiencing these pressures.

If you’re a labor and employment partner facing these obstacles at a general practice firm, think about the boutique environment as an alternative.  Even in this challenging economic environment, opportunities abound!


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  2. A Hot Practice Area for the Economic Downturn
  3. How to Cope With a Change in Employment Status


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