MANAGING THE BUSINESS OF LAW

The role of today’s Managing Partner has expanded far beyond the general over sight of the firm’s legal practice to that of Chairman of the Board, Chief Operating Officer, Senior Strategic Planner, Chief Psychologist and Head of the Complaint Department.

With all these responsibilities, chief among them is instilling and maintaining the firm’s culture and entrepreneurial spirit. Clients are very conscious of fees and are becoming very sophisticated as to the legal services they need and the differences among the law firms providing those services. The Managing Partner must set the tone and establish and maintain the organization that differentiates his/her firm from all others; be able to clearly demonstrate why any potential client should hire the firm; and why existing clients should remain loyal to the firm and be pleased to give the firm more work when warranted.

One of the most important aspects of this process is the establishment of a Business Plan. The plan must be practical in that it clearly uses the technical, intellectual and cultural resources of the firm to their fullest. It must be practical in that it has full and complete “buy in” from the legal and non legal members and employees of the firm. It must be practical in that it is financially sound and works within an implementation time schedule that can be accomplished. It must be practical in that it is based on factual research as to potential new market penetration and the service ability of the firm. It must be practical in that it fits the existing firm culture. Finally, it must be fully implemented, monitored, revised and include an appropriate compensation component that truly rewards success.

VIRTUALLY SPEAKING

The practice of law has evolved from lawyers burying their noses in stacks of research books into the wee hours of the morning and secretaries pounding away revision after revision of legal documents on typewriters, into the high-tech fast-paced business of law.

Technology has not only increased individual lawyer productivity, but has also intensified client and judicial expectations as to the speed of that production. It is no longer a question of whether or not technology can keep pace with our needs but rather, can we keep pace and take full advantage of what technology has to offer.

Notebooks, remote access, voice recognition, wireless Internet connection, video-conferencing, PDAs and cell phones have turned our homes and attaché cases into virtual offices.

Telecommuting is no longer limited to working from home in a comfortable robe and cushy slippers. Closing a deal from a different time-zone, accessing a client database from a sandy beach or negotiating a deal from 33,000 miles up are all common place occurrences.

The key to meeting your firm’s and clients’ technological requirements is the often neglected requirement of fully evaluating and understanding your current hardware and software capabilities; utilizing them to their fullest extent to increase productivity while controlling costs and getting a full return on your investment; and keeping an eye toward the future generation of knowledge management assimilation and exchange tools.

Yesterday having the ability to work remotely was a luxury and fun to do. Today it is an essential tool of the trade as well as having the potential of greatly increasing the amount of time you spend working.

How well you learn to balance the value of technology with the expanded work time it creates is an issue you must resolve to allow yourself and your family a reasonable work/life balance.

CONTROLLING THE COST OF MAINTAINING STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY

Competition and technology savvy clients have made it necessary for today’s law firms to keep ahead of the curve. Gone are the days when good lawyering kept clients happy and firms profitable. Speed of light technology and the need for 24/7 communication has changed the landscape of the legal profession and it is management’s responsibility to navigate the road.

When interviewing law firms, prospective clients now question firms about their technological ability as well as their ability to deliver quality legal services in a cost effective manner.

So how does a law firm balance the needs of its clients and the firm’s ability to remain competitive without breaking the bank?

-View technology as a practice enhancement

-Prepare an annual technology budget

-Determine your firm’s “business” needs

-billing software
-A/R tracking
-expense tracking
-financial reporting
-case management
-records management

-Understand client expectations

-Develop a 3-year IT strategic plan

-Implement an ongoing training program for all users, especially lawyers

-Keep abreast of changing technology

-Only buy what you truly need

-Pay the price for the best IT Director, it will save you money

Controlling technology costs is a challenge that every law firm faces. Swinging too far from one end of the spectrum (remaining in the dark ages when it comes to technology) to the other end of the spectrum (buying every bell and whistle on the market) can be costly and counter-productive. An intelligent, well reasoned, efficient plan can keep costs in line and allow the firm to service clients well.

Providing the highest quality legal services available while remaining competitive and profitable is a balancing act that every firm must master to remain in the game.

PROPER UTILIZATION OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE LAW FIRM CAN INCREASE THE BOTTOM LINE

Today law firms are compelled to steadily increase hourly billing rates in response to ever increasing operating costs, resulting in client dissatisfaction. Consequently law firms must consider alternative billing practices in order to satisfy their client base.

By using the proper technology tools, the cost of producing a given legal work-product can be reduced and often standardized thus allowing the firm to move to a unit pricing structure.

The price for a particular legal service can then be kept steady or even reduced as a firm becomes more efficient and is able to produce the required work with higher quality and greater speed for its client; this can lead to greater firm profitability while still controlling billing rates.

The ultimate goal is client satisfaction. Lower cost, quality legal work produced as rapidly and efficiently as possible is what today's clients want. The firm that can deliver that service will survive and prosper.