Regular readers know that some of the “evergreen” topics here on Adam Smith, Esq. include:
- The theme that profits matter more than revenue—but that remarkably few partners think in those terms;
- The inevitable invasion of Law Land by Big Data in all its many guises and implications;
- Clients’ having seized the steering wheel out of the hands of law firms since the Global Financial Crisis (and, since you asked, they have no plans to let go); and
- The reality that running your firm like a business is becoming non-negotiable; this is not me speaking, this is the market.
Those of you who feel sympathetic to one or more of these themes might want to be aware of an all-day conference addressing some of these issues, word of which just crossed our desk. It’s in San Francisco on Thursday, March 12, and it’s been put together by the Chicago-based Ark Group. (Disclosure: We have collaborated with Ark often over the years, though neither of us is a paying client of the other.)
From the Ark site describing the conference:
From pricing to process to service delivery, law firms today are tasked with having to re-engineer some of the most important drivers of law firm profitability while developing internal standards and best practices reflective of the firm’s broader business strategy.
Clearly, the rules have changed. Standard business principles have become a reality for law firms today as clients have become much more sophisticated and proficient in negotiating costs, evaluating performance and defining the scope of engagements.
As economic pressures increase and clients ask for fixed and other alternative pricing, law firms, both large and small, are realizing a need to transition away from hours as a primary metric and basis for measuring profitability.
You might want to take a look.
