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Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the managing partner of our six attorney firm in Fresno, California. I recently went to a management seminar that stressed the importance of creating a budget for the firm. We currently do not have one. The budgeting process looks like a lot of work. Is it really worth the effort?
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the owner of an estate planning practice in Chicago's northwest suburbs. I have two associates and four staff members. I am 67 and would like to retire when I am 70 (3 years). I have no idea as to where I should start and the approach I should take. I would appreciate suggestions.
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the managing partner of a 14 attorney estate planning firm in Lexington, Kentucky. We took a hard hit in 2008 during the recession and have just been recovering over the last couple of years. Business is up, but profits are still flat. We have not raised our hourly billing rates for several years for fear that we will not be competitive and will lose out on business. However, we believe that we must increase our billing rates and are concerned. What are your thoughts?
A. I would bet you are leaving money on the table and you should in fact increase your billing rates. I often find law firms are more concerned about their rates than their clients are. You must remain competitive for the value package (including your experience, expertise, and reputation) that you are delivering. This does not mean being the cheapest estate planning firm in town. Some of my most successful estate planning firms are those charging the highest fees.
Here are a few thoughts:
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. We are a six partner litigation firm in Des Moines, Iowa. This year we hired two associates and they are our first. We have not provided them with the best mentoring or guidance - it has sort of baptism by fire. I would appreciate your thoughts on what we should be doing concerning performance management.
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the owner of a seven attorney litigation boutique firm in New York City. I am the only equity owner and the other six attorneys are associates. Currently all of the associates are paid a straight salary with raises given every year. I am considering freezing their salaries at current levels and putting in place an incentive bonus for individual revenue generation above a certain number. I am concerned that this approach might create an eat-what-you-kill mentality and destroy teamwork in the firm. Do you have any thoughts?
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am a new partner in our law firm of six attorneys. I was an associate for seven years and was just made an equity partner and just received a copy of this month's income statement. The income statement shows the firm operating at a loss. I was startled and took a look at past years' statements as well. All are showing a small loss. Am I looking at these correctly? How can a firm operate at a loss for seven years in a row and still be in business. I would appreciate your comments.
A. My guess is that the firm is running all or a portion of equity partner compensation though as expense on the income statement. Other personal items may also be run through the firm as well. Check with the firm's bookkeeper or outside accountant to see if this is the case. If this is the case add the total paid to equity partners back to the net income or loss on the income statement. This will give a better picture of the actual "pie".
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the managing partner in an eight attorney general practice firm in Tulsa, Okla. A year and a half ago we hired our first legal administrator to run all business aspects of our practice. We decided that we wanted more than an office manager - we wanted an administrator to serve in the capacity of a COO. We hired an experienced administrator at a good salary, developed a well-conceived job description, and the work began. My partners and I are frustrated. We have to follow-up on projects and task assignments, do not see the leadership that we had hoped for, and have concerns that our administrator may not be up to the tasks. We just realized we have not had a performance review since he started. I would appreciate your suggestions.
A. Sounds like you did a good job clarifying the role and initially laying out your expectations. However, you cannot stop there. You have not conducted a performance review and I suspect that he has received little feedback regarding his performance. During the first year feedback needs to be ongoing with a mini review every 90 days and ongoing coaching and follow-up. You need to conduct a review with him ASAP, layout expectations and compare to actual performance, discuss gaps, and reach an agreement as to a plan with milestones and dates to resolve performance gaps. Then you will have a better picture as to whether your administrator was the right hire or not.
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the managing partner of an eight attorney general practice firm in Chicago's western suburbs. We have five partners and three associates. For years, it was just the five partners who started the firm together. In the last three years we added our associates. We are not making money from our associates and wondering what we need to be doing differently. One associate is logging 925 billable hours, one is logging 1,200 billable hours, and the other 1,400 billable hours. You thoughts are welcomed.
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Q. I am the managing partner of a 25 attorney firm in Charleston, South Carolina. Our practice is limited to insurance defense. We have eight equity partners, four income partners, and five associates. Our firm is in second generation and virtually all of our clients were originated by first generation partners that are no longer here - they have since retired. Our compensation system focuses totally on working attorney dollars. I believe that we must begin to stress the importance of origination of new clients and factor that into the equation. I would appreciate your thoughts.
Asked and Answered
By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
Last week a firm advised that their law firm was splitting up via a dissolution and forming two new law firms. I outlined some of the steps that would need to be taken to dissolve the firm.
This week I will discuss some of the typical steps that will need to be taken to start the new law firms. Some of these steps include:
ESTABLISH NEW LEGAL ENTITY