The MPF Webinar Series
Our popular MPF Webinar Series - “The Law Firm of the Future” - is presented on the third Wednesday of the month to help firm leaders look achieve long-term, proactive, forward-thinking, and strategic approaches to their firms and the business of law. These 60-minute Webinars are complimentary for our readers. The on-demand recordings and handout materials are listed below.
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2025 Report on the State of the US Legal Market:
The Implications for Smaller and Midsized Law Firms
by Managing Partner Forum with Bill Josten
An MPF Webinar Originally Broadcast on March 19, 2025
Our guest speaker was William Josten, Esq., ALRAP from Thomson Reuters Institute. During our session, we discussed TR’s Report on the State of the US Legal Market and its implications for smaller and midsized law firms. Here are a few things we learned:
- Big Rate Increases Again in 2025. After two years of strong rate increases, smaller and midsized firms were aggressive again in 2025. 31% reported rate increases of 4-5%. 30% reported rate increases of 6- 9%, and 12% reported increases of 10% or more.
- And Rate Increases Are Holding. 51% of firm leaders reported that increases are holding in “almost all” cases. Another 38% said they are holding in “most” cases, and only 1% report that they have achieved rate increases less than half the time.
- Billable Hour Expectations Continue to Decline. The billable hour expectation for Associate Attorneys continues to decline. Expectations now average about 1700-1750 billable hours, down from 1,800 hours in 2023 and 2024.
- Associates Are Still Falling Short. In spite of the lower expectations, only 8% of firm leaders said that Associate Attorneys hit their numbers consistently; 38% said they hit their numbers most (50-80%) of the time and 33% said they hit their numbers only some of the time.
- Getting Nervous about the Economy. Finally, firm leaders are starting to express concerns about US economic conditions. 56% said they were "somewhat concerned." 24% said they were "very concerned."
Click here for On-Demand Webinar.
Click here for Handout Materials.
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Elevating Firm Growth: A Strategic Blueprint for Managing Partners
by Managing Partner Forum with Mark Carlson, Ben Chiriboga and Don Mrozek
An MPF Webinar Originally Broadcast on February 19, 2025
Thank you to our speakers Mark Carlson, Esq. from Baker Donelson; Ben Chiriboga from Nexl and Don Mrozek, Esq. from Hinshaw & Culbertson. Key takeaways:
- Strategic Growth: Successful firms follow a firm-wide plan, while others grow more opportunistically.
- Mergers & Acquisitions: Most small and midsized firms are open to mergers, with 12% willing to be acquired by a larger regional or national firm. However, most prefer to lead in any combination.
- Lateral Hiring: Written integration plans, including a critical 90-day check-in, significantly improve success rates.
- Hiring Tools: Invest in robust candidate assessment tools to avoid costly missteps.
As always, we conducted live polling during the session, and the results are available in the handout materials. This was our 57th MPF Webinar since 2020.
Click here for On-Demand Webinar.
Click here for Handout Materials.
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Strategies to Improve Your Firm's Profitability in 2025
by Managing Partner Forum with Peter Berlowe and Tedd Drattell
An MPF Webinar Originally Broadcast on January 15, 2025
One-hundred twenty five (125) managing partners and firm leaders participated in this month's MPF Webinar. Our guest speakers were Peter Berlowe, Esq. and Tedd Drattell. Here are a few survey/polling results from the group assembled:
- “Billable hours” and “collections” are what get measured most in smaller and midsize law firms. We think that “client satisfaction” and “talent attrition” are also important things to track.
- The billable hour expectation for Associate Attorneys keeps tumbling with fifty-two percent (52%) of firms now in the 1600-1800 hour range.
- Here again in our informal survey, we see aggressive rate increases in 2025, with fifty-four percent (54%) of firms reporting rate increases in the 4-6% range. Twelve percent (12%) of firms sought rates increases of 10% or more.
- When it comes to time-keeping practices, fifty-five percent (55%) of firms say they expect time to be entered on a daily basis.
Click here for On-Demand Webinar.
Click here for Handout Materials.