Profitability

White Papers

• The Midsize Law Firm Performance Report
  At the Forefront of a Pandemic 
  by Patrick Johansen, LawFirmPricing.com 
  

  This is Patrick's inaugural issue of a White Paper series he's calling The Midsize Law Firm Performance Report. Fifty-two (52) law firms participated in his survey asking about how they are dealing with the current pandemic. 60% of participating firms were in the 50-100-lawyer size range. Most were located in the Northeast and Midwest regions of the country. 

• 2020 Report on the State of the Legal Market
  by Georgetown Law and Thomson Reuters
  

  Every year, there are a handful of "state of the profession" reports that we think every managing partner and law firm leader should read and digest. This is one of them. This report presents the dominant trends impacting the legal market in 2019, and the key issues influencing the market in 2020 and beyond. We've highlighted sctions of the report to make it easy reading!

• 2017 Report on the State of the Legal Market
  by Georgetown Law and Thomson Reuters
  

  The past decade has seen unprecedented change and disruption in the legal market. Sparked by the Great Recession of 2008, the pressure on today’s law firms is more intense than ever. As the market evolves over time, there will be winners and there will be losers. According to this year’s report, here are four important areas to which your law firm should pay close attention:

  • Unrelenting Focus on Profitability
  • Focus on Expanding Your Leverage Model
  • Clear Focus on Your Firm’s Core Practice Areas
  • New Focus on Supply Chain Management
  This is a great report to circulate to your partners and discuss what it means to your firm at an upcoming partnership meeting. As Charles Darwin observed in his theory of evolution, the species with the best chance of survival are not always the strongest and the smartest. They are the ones most adaptable to changes in the environment.

• Guide to Value-Based Fees
  by Association of Corporate Counsel
  

  Companies are changing the way they buy legal services – gradually in some instances, drastically in others. The hourly rate billing model that has ruled for decades is giving way to a greater focus on terms emphasizing value delivered instead of time spent. Against this backdrop, value-based fee structures are seen as an effective way to manage cost, and it goes far beyond just the dollars. This White Paper is written from the perspective of in-house counsel.  

• Legal Pricing in Transition  
  by Jim and Matt Hassett, LegalBizDev
  

  Legal pricing is changing as a result of client pressures for efficiency on both hourly and non-hourly matters and the increasing use of alternative fee arrangements, and law firms are being forced to rethink their approach. This paper includes interviews with pricing leaders from a number of large firms that are working to better understand their costs, improve value creation, measure value, and apply project management techniques to control both cost and value. It ends with eight predictions, including a continuing increase in competition and that to succeed in the future law firms will be required to put more emphasis on both initial pricing and subsequent project management.  

• Future Law Office:
  Technology's Transformation of the Legal Field 
  by Robert Half Legal
  

  Many vendors and consultants to the legal industry publish self-serving articles and White Papers as part of their marketing programs. In many cases, however, they're little more than poorly disguised sales brochures promoting products and services they offer law firms. But this one is solid. It's well-researched and chocked full of expert opinions on how technology has impacted lawyers and law firms.

• The MPF 2010 Annual Conference
  A Summary of Discussion Points and Findings 
  by Charles F. Huxsaw and John Remsen, Jr.
  

  Over 90 managing partners, firm leaders and top consultants to the legal industry participated in The MPF 2010 Annual Conference on April 29th in Atlanta, Georgia. This comprehensive White Paper summarizes the key findings revealed through the use of state-of-the-art Audience Participation Technology. It focuses on how law firms approach strategic planning and the role of the managing partner; including what they do, how much time they spend in the role and how they get paid for all that non-billable effort. This is really good stuff.

• The Current Economic Environment - What Firm Leaders Are Saying
  by John S. Smock, John W. Sterling and Peter A. Giuliani
  

  Forum Faculty member John Smock and his partners recently wrote this assessment of how law firms are performing in the midst of the current economic downturn. And it's not as bad as you might think for the well-managed law firm.   

• Practical Advice to Improve Your Firm's Profitability
  by John Remsen, Jr.
  

  From the inaugural issue of the Managing Partner Forum newsletter, firm leaders reveal their top management concerns and thoughts on strategic planning. Our response? It's time to assume the role of CEO in order to make the firm profitable.