OFF THE PRESS

About two-thirds of the time, when legal clients say they want "greater value," law firm leaders believe it is nothing more than a request to pay less. Although profitability is essential to law firms' success and survival, about one-quarter of major law firms don't measure it formally but only assess it intuitively. For those that do measure profitability, the two most consistently effective ways to preserve it are legal project management and adding new staffing in pricing, value, and related areas. These are just a few of the findings of a study of law firm leaders conducted in 2013 and 2014 by LegalBizDev's founder, Jim Hassett, for his new book "Client Value and Law Firm Profitability" which will be published October 8. Hassett conducted confidential interviews with law firm leaders from 50 AmLaw 200 firms. Forty-two percent were chairs or managing partners, and the rest were senior partners and executives. Since the participants in the study were promised that they would not be quoted by name, they were unusually frank in their responses, including the law firm chairman who said that "lawyers are about as dumb as you could possibly be about understanding how our product is made. The lawyers who understand how to make it and who can manage that process efficiently are going to be the winners." The interviewees also felt free to speak about both the business problems they face and possible solutions, like the managing partner who noted that "I have a $10 million practice. But that could be a disaster for a firm, because it could cost them $11 million to get $10 million. But nobody ever talks about it that way." The 218-page paperback can be ordered now by email (info@legalbizdev.com), fax (917-386-2733), phone (1-800-49-TRAIN), or mail (LegalBizDev, 225 Franklin Street, 26th Floor, Boston, MA 02110). The cost is $95, with volume discounts on orders of two or more copies. Excerpts from the book and an order form can be found at www.legalbizdev.com/research. The book can also be ordered from Amazon, in both paperback and Kindle editions. Published: Tue, Oct 07, 2014