General Legal Employer Resource Center

Several years ago, an article appeared in the McKinsey Quarterly commenting on the state of the legal profession. READ MORE >

When two firms merge, it is an opportune time to take a fresh look and reassess the combined firm's practice management structure. Strong practice management may enable the newly combined firm to achieve higher profitability, obtain higher value work and enhance its client base. Even though the legal profession has experienced a period of peak profitability, most law firms have not fully capitalized upon their size and resources because they are still operating along office lines, or even worse, individual partner lines. READ MORE >

In its February 4, 2002 issue, Fortune magazine published its fifth annual list of the ''100 Best Places to Work.'' Four law firms were included on the list for the third time, this year with the following rankings: Alston & Bird, number 9; Fenwick & West number 14; McCutchen Doyle Brown & Enersen, number 54; and Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, number 78. The qualities and cultures of these four firms, which ultimately landed them on the list with the likes of Cisco Systems, Goldman Sachs, Charles Schwab, Microsoft and Intel, are in many ways similar. Most notable are a strong and positive culture, open and honest communication, and strong firm and practice management. READ MORE >

Many law firms have grown dramatically over the past few years. The challenge for any firm that has experienced fast growth is to be able to capitalize on the firm's new platform. The larger and more diverse and dispersed a firm becomes, the more attention must be focused on managing it. The reality is that growing a firm requires substantial investment in effective management to ensure the firm gets an acceptable return on its investment in growth. READ MORE >

Many law firms have been implementing new practice group structures—or have made significant changes to their existing structures—in recent years. While one managing partner told us, ''Practice group management is the latest consulting trick to sell,'' most medium and large firms have come to understand that centralized firm management alone is not the most effective way to manage the multi-million dollar businesses that law firms have become. READ MORE >

To prosper and grow, law firms of all sizes must create strategic business plans for their individual practice groups. A good strategic plan may be as simple as three to five goals with action plans designed to implement them. READ MORE >

Changing Market for Legal Services Places New Focus on Practice Management

Law firms are recognizing that the days of operating like a regulated industry are fading fast. Like the airline, telecom, and rail businesses in prior years, forward-thinking law firms understand that they are operating in an increasingly competitive marketplace and that they must transform themselves in order to thrive. Practice management is one of the key components in this transformation for law firms to be successful in the long term. READ MORE >

Take steps now to be a victor in the ongoing war for legal talent

As needs for legal services become increasingly complex and sophisticated, law firms must attract and retain talent that has not only the requisite intellectual and legal skills, but also keen business acumen. READ MORE >

Obtaining client feedback serves many purposes—from helping firms make decisions based on fact to testing assumptions for initiatives to providing a mechanism for comparison with competitors. Most important a feedback program assesses client satisfaction and provides a road map for improvement. READ MORE >

In 1977 at the World Future Society conference in Boston, Ken Olsen, Chief Executive Officer of Digital Equipment Corporation, predicted that ''there is no place for the computer in the home.'' At the time, Mr. Olsen and DEC were the darlings of Wall Street. Many observers expected DEC to overtake IBM as the world's leading computer company. So much for predictions from experts. READ MORE >

One of the most significant challenges for law firms in the current economic and competitive climate is managing effectively both their strategic development and operational performance. The strategic development is concerned with achieving agreed mid-long term strategic objectives and a future market position which provides a platform for building some form of sustainable competitiveness. Operational management, in contrast, is essentially concerned with the current, more immediate, financial and economic performance achieved including the servicing and winning of clients and achievement of other key related performance targets (covering, for example, HR, service standards, etc.). READ MORE >

In every law firm there is a period during the year when the tension rises in anticipation of the announcement of new admissions to the equity. The period in many firms is characterized by high levels of secrecy, hurried meetings behind closed doors and a sense of political gamesmanship. READ MORE >

Good managing partners can be worth their weight in gold, yet many firms regard them as overhead when determining how they should be paid. READ MORE >

Short-term and long-term tactics for managing in the economic downturn. READ MORE >

One of the stark new realities facing law firm leaders and managers across the country is a dramatic increase in the risk of significant liabilities that can affect their firms. READ MORE >

Looking across many European jurisdictions, similar trends are apparent in the way national markets are segmenting. READ MORE >

When it comes to recruiting, law firms get as much out of their efforts as they put into them. As a result, is it a surprise to hear partners complain that their firms are not attracting as much top talent as they once did. READ MORE >

Obtaining client feedback serves many purposes—from helping firms make decisions based on fact to testing assumptions for initiatives to providing a mechanism for comparison with competitors. Most important a feedback program assesses client satisfaction and provides a road map for improvement. READ MORE >

This is an exciting time to be a new partner in a law firm. The legal market has experienced several years of record profits and growth while the global market as a whole continues to become smaller. The profession will undoubtedly continue with its metamorphosis as Generation X infiltrates the law firm partnership ranks. READ MORE >

Law firms that take a short-term view on talent during an economic downturn will find themselves paying the price. Rather than a cutting-back period, the breather afforded by a slowdown in work is a good time to redouble efforts on a review of the firm’s recruiting policies and practices, and its approach to professional development. READ MORE >

''Sir, she said, ''you see before you one who, like our Sainted Lincoln, burns to serve through the medium of the law.'' READ MORE >

This year, the managing partners in a number of law firms around the country will step down from their posts and watch as new leaders take on their firm’s top management position. Most often, the change in a firm's leadership happens smoothly, is viewed as a positive move internally and has little immediate impact on the firm as a whole. Unfortunately, we also have witnessed problematic transitions that disrupt the firm and invariably lead to hard feelings. Given the leadership changes planned throughout the country, it is a good time to address some of the challenges former managing partners and their successors may face during the transition period. READ MORE >

Retain More Associates by Taking a New Approach to Training and Development

A recent study confirms what training and development experts and law firm professional development directors have long recognized: that specific initiatives in associate training and professional development are critical in reducing attrition rates of young lawyers. But the traditional law firm approach to training and development is not the solution. READ MORE >

Unless you've been in the cast of ''Survivor,'' you are aware that associate salaries have taken a dramatic jump in recent months. Law firms across the country, and certainly in Washington, have had to grapple with the impact that rising associate salaries will have on their firm. READ MORE >

Law firms are in an enviable position—the demand for legal services is at an all-time high; profits are growing by leaps and bounds at many firms; the high-tech “new economy” is creating new legal needs; and the end of the growth period is not in sight. Unfortunately, legal industry growth is occurring at the same time that unprecedented numbers of associates are leaving their firms for other firms, or quitting the industry altogether. Currently, very few associates stay with their first law firm for more than two to three years. For many firms, the combination of a high workload and an inability to retain associates is stretching firm resources to the breaking point. READ MORE >