THE MANAGING PARTNER AS CEO
The managing partner is, essentailly, the CEO of a mulit-million dollar enterprise. As such, the CEO should focus attention on setting the strategic direction of the organization, building consensus among its owners, and initiating changes necessary to insure the long-term success and prosperity of the law firm.
It takes a very special person to be effective in the role. It's alot like herding cats, as Dr. Larry Richards asserts in his often-quoted article examing lawyer personalties. It requires a combinantion of vision, toughness, compassion and superior interpersonal skills. Above all, it takes passion and commitment.
And they sure didn't teach you much about it in law school. For most managing partners, it's quite literally on-the-job training.
In this section, we feature the best information available on leadership, governance and the role of the managing partner.