Law Firm Capital
This article looks at specifics around law firm capital, and should be read in conjunction with the excellent article by Sean Larkan entitled, “Ignore your law firm capital structure at…
Continue readingNew Partners
I have just spent the weekend with a smallish firm about to introduce 3 new partners. These people are currently associates with the firm and have been employed by the…
Continue reading2018 – Australian and New Zealand Legal Profession Outlook
One of the benefits of writing an article at the end of the year is the opportunity to look back over the past 12 months and make some predictions about…
Continue readingSuccession – Large Firms
When it comes to succession in larger firms there are a number of facets that need to be considered – transition of clients from one generation to the next, the…
Continue readingGreen Shoots Showing in Australia and New Zealand Legal Markets
After a number of years of patchy performance, the legal market in Australia and New Zealand appears to have found its feet and is performing strongly – that said, those…
Continue readingDo We Need to Slice the Pie Differently?
Recent client engagements have had a heavy emphasis on partner compensation. What makes this newsworthy is that many of these firms have historically been committed to equal profit share but…
Continue readingSuccessful Succession
As has been predicted for a while now, the legal profession is undergoing a significant transfer of ownership and clients from one generation to the next. This is happening whilst…
Continue readingEight Reasons for Optimism
There has been no shortage of pessimistic predictions for the future of legal practice. Issues such as graduate oversupply and underemployment, digital disruption and increasing disintermediation, increasing price competition coupled…
Continue readingEdge International Welcomes Sam Coupland and Neil Oakes
Edge International has extended its market-leading reach in Australasian legal-services consulting with the appointment as principals with the organization of Sam Coupland and Dr. Neil Oakes of FMRC, Australasia’s leading professional development consultancy. They join Sean Larkan, Edge International’s first Australasian…
Continue readingThe Changing Nature of “Leverage”
Ten years ago, profitability was relatively straightforward: leverage, price and productivity, right? The more the better. Ten years ago, one of the strongest correlates to ‘high-profit performance’ was ‘employed lawyers with…
Continue readingDue Diligence – What to Look for Under the Bonnet
In recent months I have been working with a number of firms going through the process of either merging firms or involved in a sale and purchase. That this activity…
Continue readingRethinking Fee Earner Budgets
Law firms of all shapes and sizes have been setting fee earner budgets for many years. In many firms this process has involved some common and consistent features: Fifteen years ago…
Continue readingAre Traditional Profit-Sharing Models the Enemy of Diversity?
Methodologies for sharing profit among equity partners have been an interest of mine for many years. Some time ago I wrote a doctoral thesis on the behavioural consequences of alternative…
Continue readingVariable Cost Base: Why, What, and How?
The legal profession, and arguably all professions, have to date been comprised of top-line focussed firms. In its simplest terms, the management thinking could be summarised as ‘If we get…
Continue readingAre Law Firms Valuable Businesses?
Well managed, profitable, organised businesses with repeat customers are worth real money. Why not law firms? We now have a large, successful, publicly owned law firm with a rising share price….
Continue readingBenchmarking – Focus where it Matters
From the early 2000’s a number of performance trends have gathered strength in the legal profession. Benchmarking data from the FMRC Legal Business Monitor (www.legalbenchmarking.com.au) shows a continuation of performance…
Continue readingCost of Production
Price is critical to profit. Price determines your client mix. Price determines how hard you have to work. Price is a critical part of your marketing strategy. Many aspects of…
Continue reading6 Strategic Opportunities
1. Life balance versus performance ethic Chargeable hours worked by employed solicitors are declining as salary expectation continues to rise. Employees are not prepared to work the long, arduous hours…
Continue readingProfit Improvement for Small Law Firms
Financial performance in the legal profession is best described as patchy. Some firms are doing exceedingly well, others are muddling along and a lot are struggling. Whilst the more financially successful…
Continue readingA Year of Practice Management
Law firms usually don’t mirror the economy. More often than not they lag behind it, slowing down some time after economic slowdown and growing some time after economic escalation. The…
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