by Bruce | August 31, 2017 | Articles, Client Relationships, Finance, Leadership, Question of the Month
Question of the Month #3 was, “What is the best measure of law firm performance?” This column is by Janet Stanton, Partner, Adam Smith, Esq. This question is gaining currency in our industry, with it being asked with greater frequency and not a few...
by Bruce | August 28, 2017 | Articles, Finance
With thanks to our friends at Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute. You spend from January 1 to April 23 devoting your revenue to paying taxes; After April 23 (we’re talking averages here) another 40% of your year is “wasted” in...
by Bruce | August 24, 2017 | Articles, Branding, Business Models, Finance, Leadership, Practice Group Management, Strategy
We haven’t talked yet about realization. Shall we? The first time I saw this chart, it hit me between the eyes; your reaction may be similar. In a nutshell: Even if litigation “demand” is more or less steady, what about revenue to law firms from that demand? In...
by Bruce | August 1, 2017 | Articles, Finance, Practice Group Management, Question of the Month
Steven Brill’s audacious decision to publish AmLaw profits per partner figures starting over three decades ago was without question the single most brilliant journalistic stroke Law Land trade media has ever experienced, creating an enduring franchise to this day....
by Bruce | July 24, 2017 | Articles, Business Models, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy
This article is by Janet Stanton, Partner, Adam Smith, Esq.: “Non-lawyers.” This is the prevailing term for business professionals employed at law firms. Really? Let’s just start with the fact that it’s insulting to be defined by what you are not. (Thought experiment:...
by Bruce | March 28, 2017 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Partnership Structures
One of the things we do a lot of here—and seemingly more of in the past 24 months or so—is helping firms sort out, reform, amend, optimize, throw-away-and-start-fresh, their partnership compensation systems. And in every engagement of that sort, we try to keep two...