Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. Our Chicago law firm of 17 attorneys - 12 partners - 5 associates - is entering its second decade. While we were extremely successful during our early years, the last few years have been a challenge. Since 2008 we have been holding our own and doing okay. We have not laid off any attorneys but the partners are making less money than they made three or four years ago. Billable hours and production seems to be down? Do we have a work ethic or motivation problem? What can we do to get the attorneys producing more billable hours? I would appreciate your thoughts and any suggestions that you may have.