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  • April 29, 2015 | Practice News
    Best Practice: Finding law firm merger candidates

    Asked and Answered

    By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

    Q. I am the managing partner of a 14 attorney firm in Los Angeles. We are primarily a transactional practice and we are considering looking for a litigation firm to merge with our firm. I would appreciate your thoughts on locating merger candidates.

    A. For larger firms that have a talent or book of business void or solo practitioner and sole owners’ merger is often an appropriate strategy and approach. It all comes down to the finding the right firm, the right culture, and the right fit. The search process can take time as we.Here are some suggestions to help get the search process started:

  • April 22, 2015 | Practice News
    Best Practice: How many billable hours should an associate produce?

    Asked and Answered

    By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

    Q. I am a solo attorney in upstate New York. My practice is limited to estate planning, estate administration, and elder law. I have just hired my first associate and am trying to get a sense of the number of billable hours I should expect her to produce. Your comments would be appreciated.

    4 comments (Most recent April 25, 2015)
  • April 15, 2015 | Practice News
    Best Practice: How to tie bonuses to performance

    Asked and Answered

    By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

    Q. I am a partner in a 14 attorney firm in San Francisco and I serve on our associate compensation committee. Presently, associate compensation is based on a salary and discretionary bonus. I would like to see a stronger tie to performance. I would appreciate your thoughts.

  • April 8, 2015 | Practice News
    Best Practice: How will Google change impact law firm search results?

    Asked and Answered

    By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

    April 21, 2015 Google Update May Impact Your Google Ranking

    Q. I am the managing partner with a 14 attorney firm in Cleveland. A friend of my just advised me that Google was coming out with a change to their search engine that might impact our website. Have you heard anything?

  • March 25, 2015 | Practice News
    Best Practice: Proper compensation and profit margins for Of Counsel attorneys

    By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

    Q. I am the managing partner in an eight attorney firm in Phoenix. We are contemplating bringing in a senior lawyer as an Of Counsel that wants to gradually wind down his practice. We are thinking of paying him using an eat-what-he-kills approach whereby he would be paid 40% for his personal production (collected working attorney receipts) and 20% for bringing in the client (origination). Thus, if he brought in the client and did all of the work he would get 60% of the fee. What are your thoughts?

  • March 18, 2015 | Practice News
    Best Practice: 1st steps for law firm mergers

    Asked and Answered

    By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

    Q. We are a 17-attorney firm in Dayton, Ohio. Several of our founding partners are retiring and we have been contemplating a merger with another law firm but are not sure where to start. I would appreciate your ideas.

    A. Start by determining your merger objectives. Why do you want to merge? What do you hope to achieve? Is merger compatible with your strategic plan? What size of firm are you considering?

    Once you are sure that merger exploration - in general - makes sense - you should insure that your house is in order. In other words - can anything be done to enhance the value and/or marketability of your firm? For example:

  • March 11, 2015 | Practice News
    Best Practice: Law firm financial management

    Asked and Answered

    By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

    Q. I am the managing partner of a 17-attorney firm in San Francisco. We have a firm administrator that we hired four years ago and he manages our financial and HR matters. I haven't a clue as to what goes on financially and this is becoming more of a concern for me and my other partners. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

  • March 4, 2015 | Practice News
    Best Practice: Exiting your practice - to sell or not to sell?

    Asked and Answered

    By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

    Q. I am the owner of a solo practice located in the western Boston suburbs. I have been considering selling my practice. Do you see many practitioners selling their practices?

  • February 25, 2015 | Practice News
    Best Practice: Law firm succession planning and mid-career partner roles

    Asked and Answered

    By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

    Q.  I am a partner and a member of the Executive Committee of a 250 attorney firm in the midwest. We have had a succession plan in place for several years for our senior partners. Several have completed their phasedowns successfully and others are struggling. One of our challenges is many of our mid-career partners are simply not ready. I would appreciate your thoughts.

  • February 18, 2015 | Practice News
    Best Practice: Transitioning to a more business-like law firm

    Asked and Answered

    By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

    Q. I am a partner in a 12 attorney general business firm located in St. Louis. I was elected as managing partner earlier this year and have been a lawyer and with this firm for eight years. I also have a MBA degree and managed a small business before becoming a lawyer. Frankly, I have been amazed at how law firms conduct business and I would like to change our thinking and our culture. Do you have any thoughts?

    A. Here are five tips that you might find useful: