By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. In a recent firm meeting the question was raised as to whether law firms hit a wall when they run up against new competitors, new technologies, new business models, or when their talent peaks. Is there a general model of sustaining a law firm?
A. The mechanics of managing a law firm are too complex to address in this forum. It would be better to discuss what to tell you what to look for that tells you, well in advance of a fee revenue plateau, that your practice needs some work. Once you know where your practice is getting wobbly, then you will have a clearer idea of how to fix the mechanics.
We tell our clients that often a law firm is on an "S-Curve" in which slow and steady growth often occurs at the start of the law practice, followed by gaining momentum and rapid growth, then tapering off as practice areas get saturated or competitors enter the practice areas in which the firm is engaged. Watch these components for advance warning:
1. Competition - any practice area attractive to you will also attract other law firms, so monitor new entrants starting to chip away at your clients.
2. Capabilities - you created or bought some new technology, skills or other assets to start your firm/growth, but the distinctiveness of these eventually wears off and they are likely to be available to competitors once their value is clear.
3. Talent - you had it when you started your firm, but attorneys and staff have become "free agents" and increasingly move between law firms more frequently and you may lose a key asset.
There may be other components unique to your practice and market.
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June 29, 2011 |
Practice News
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June 28, 2011 |
ISBA News
[caption id="attachment_20698" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The students interact with Tuesday's speaker, Northwestern Law Professor Sheila M. Maloney."][/caption] The Illinois State Bar Association's Law and Leadership Institute has rolled into its second week -- and the students are loving it. They enjoyed visits to the Daley Center and 1st District Appellate Court on Friday. The students got to witness a trial in Traffic Court at the Daley Center spent nearly three hours discussing a variety of topics with Justice Bertina Lampkin at the Appellate Court. Justice Lampkin even walked the students through her famous dissent in the Rahm Emanuel ballot case. On Tuesday, the students were treated to a negotiations class with Northwestern Law School Professor Sheila Maloney. Click here to view pictures from the court visits. Click here to view pictures from the negotiations class. The Institute continues through July 8 at the John Marshall Law School.
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June 28, 2011 |
ISBA News
[caption id="attachment_20631" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Appearing on "Health Care Reform and You" will be (from left) Monique A. Anawis, program moderator Latham Williams and Carolyn V. Metnick."][/caption] "Health Care Reform & You" and "Health Care Reform: Consumer Challenges," will air at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays during the month of July on Illinois Law, a cable production of the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA). They will run on Chicago Access Network Television, Channel 21 in Chicago. "Health Care Reform & You," will air on Tuesdays, July 5 and 19. Appearing on the show are (from left) Monique A. Anawis, a surgeon who also practices law, of Chicago; program moderator Latham Williams, of Hudson Highland Group, Inc., in Chicago; and Carolyn V. Metnick, an attorney in the Chicago office of Barnes & Thornburg, LLP. "Health Care Reform: Consumer Challenges" will air at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays, July 12 and 26. Appearing on the show are (from left) Mark A. Mosby, general counsel of Health Plan headquartered in Grands Rapids, Michigan; Nancy K. McKenna, assistant professor, University of St. Francis in Joliet; and program moderator Latham Williams, of Hudson Highland Group, Inc., in Chicago.
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June 28, 2011 |
Practice News
The Cook County Law Library will be closing at 6 p.m. on weekdays starting July 6 and continuing through Sept. 23. Pursuant to Chicago Municipal Code 13-196-205, the Public Building Commission is installing an automatic sprinkler system in the Daley Center.
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