Addressing Structural Complexities
Large law firms today are structurally complex organizations with management and partners overburdened by time-consuming and often conflicting roles.
Latest Market Research 2007 marks Edge’s 25th year Serving law firms internationally
In discussing internally, what we might do to celebrate this event, we were reminded of a market survey conducted five years earlier, by the folks at the prestigious Of Counselnewsletter in New York. That survey identified Edge as one of the top three consulting firms serving the profession. It occurred to us that we might […]
What’s on Managing Partner Agendas in 2007?
We recently asked 100 managing partners to address their mind to one question: What forces, already at work within our profession, have the greatest potential to profoundly transform (positively or negatively) your firm’s future in the next three years? What follows are the views of 47 firm leaders, representing firms from 100 to over 3000 […]
Managing the Law Firm’s Balance Sheet for Future Profit
Most law firms are run by the numbers: This year’s numbers. Afterall, “At the end of the year, my PPP must be bigger than your PPP.” While this measure is fine for reporting to the legal press, current year profit per partner is a poor management tool. This is because PPP is no indication of […]
Strategic Options for Commodity Practices
In response to the reduction of corporate transactional work available to law firms during the early 2000s, a number of general practice firms became progressively dependent on other areas of practice, particularly litigation. But, the slow down in corporate practice reduced the spin-off of commercial litigation so lawyer plates were often filled with discounted work […]
Managing Financial Performance in Law Firms
Many partners are as uninterested in the day-to-day management of their firm as they are unwilling to be managed by others. While this in turn creates a gap between the managers and those being managed,it is generally true that the more successful a firm is, the narrower the gap has become. It has been wisely […]
Dealing with Blind Spots
Strategic industry and competitive analysis models rely on rational and objective behavior. They almost completely ignore the mental filters through which individuals process information. This often results in the decisions made being flawed, perhaps fatally, without the firm even knowing it. First highlighted by Michael Porter, blind spots manifest themselves in three ways: The firm […]
Compelling Testimonials
It’s hard to deny: clients today are particularly skeptical. So, one of the most difficult challenges that each of us as professionals face, is coming up with a convincing response to one critical question: “As a prospective client, tell me please, why should I choose you (your firm or your practice group); what makes you […]
Managing Our Firm, One Lawyer at a Time
A Presentation to a Firm You are great lawyers. In order to be so, you must have a number of propensities: to be ferociously independent, critical and analytical and even tense sometimes. I will not ask you to give up those propensities in the context of your substantive practice. Because we are now a firm […]