Law Firms: Designing an Effective Compensation System
John Fitzgerald, CPA, Berdon LLP, New York Accountants
View ArticleUnderperforming Partners Toxic to Law Firm Success
Historically, firms that were ripe with new business endured "chronic underperformance" (in the words of legal consultant John Remsen, Jr., of The Remsen Group ("Remsen")), as well as bad behavior from...
View ArticleThe Changing Face of the Law Firm Industry
Two key questions need to be answered: What is a new resource model, and why is it necessary? What might a new resource model look like? What and Why Simply put, a resource model includes the...
View ArticleReal Estate Trends in the Law Firm Industry
A “perfect storm” of increased competition, fee pressure from clients, a changing workforce, and merger and acquisition activity among law firms has forced firm leaders to re-examine the use and...
View ArticleLaw Firm KPIs Deserve Attention
Firms should focus on KPI's that provide insight on performance in the following areas: Profitability Production Expenses Each area listed above was discussed at a Managing Partner Forum hosted by...
View ArticleLaw Firms and Economic Nexus - An Evolving Struggle
A good time and billing system capable of producing detailed records; Location tracking of where personnel are performing services; Being prepared with the required information that will go a long way...
View ArticleIt's That Time of Year Again
There are several techniques that have proven to be very effective in assisting law firms with achieving improved performance in this area. Implementation of some of these techniques can ensure greater...
View ArticleGreenlighting a Lateral or Merger? Financial Due Diligence Leads the Way
Financial Results of the Target Firm There are many reasons why a firm may be interested in joining you. Some are good: retiring leadership, blending of like practices, adding strength to strength,...
View ArticleCyberattack: No Longer a Question of if, But When
Taking Stock Before you can begin to build your defense, you need to know what it is you must protect. To do so, you need to answer three not-so-simple questions. 1) What data do you possess? This must...
View ArticleCreating a Lateral Plan that Will Work
Recruitment The recruitment phase includes a bit of soul-searching within your firm and clear answers to a few key questions: What is your objective in hiring a lateral? What is your lateral message?...
View ArticleAttracting and Retaining the Millennial Lawyer
The numbers are simply too large to ignore. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, millennials now comprise more than one-third of the U.S. workforce and more than 20% of the legal community. By 2025,...
View Article2015 Amendments to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
These current eDiscovery challenges and the responses made in the 2015 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were the topic of discussion at a CLE presentation Thursday, June 2, at Berdon...
View ArticleLaw Firm Accounting - Opening the Books
Most big businesses must prepare their financial statements and their income tax returns following the accrual method of accounting. Under that method, a business is taxed when it records a sale for a...
View ArticleBerdon Hosts Law Firm Managing Partner Summit: Partnerships Built to Last
"Law firms must run more like businesses and less like loose federations of sole practitioners," said Remsen. Turning to important strategic priorities, Remsen deemed marketing and business development...
View ArticleYour WIP May Be Pointing To Internal Problems
Client Dissatisfaction. Clients may be reluctant to pay if they are not satisfied with the work. This might indicate that you have the wrong people on this particular engagement. It may be a good...
View ArticleWhipping Your WIP and AR Into Shape
Stress to partners and staff the value of getting their time in promptly, daily for accurate WIP, so the firm can bill. If necessary, send out reminders to those who regularly ignore this rule. Speak...
View ArticleWhen Tweets Speak Louder than Words
Failing to grasp the growing power of social media and not have instituting measures to place some control over its use can place your firm at risk. The very existence of social media created new...
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