Planning for What Comes Next: Why Every Law Firm Needs a Succession Financial Plan
Law firm managers should be frequently thinking about the future. Where will their firm be in 1-5-10 years? Whether a firm is considering a lateral hire, a new practice area, a merger, or a partner is considering retiring, every strategic decision should rest on a financial foundation. Succession plan reports provide a foundation. They answer […]
Your KPI Report Is Only as Good as Your Data
KPI Reporting can be one of the best underutilized tools for a firm. But is your data accurate? A report that gives law firm leadership false confidence can be more dangerous than having no KPI report at all, because many important firm decisions are made based on it. So, KPIs are only as good as […]
When Good Attorneys Leave: What the Data Could Have Told You
When a partner or senior associate leaves, the cost to the firm is rarely calculated — but it should be. Between lost billable hours during the search, recruiting fees, onboarding time, and the client relationships that walk out the door, replacing a mid-level attorney can cost anywhere from half to twice their annual salary. The […]
Collection Rates and Cash Flow: The KPI Pairing Every Firm Needs
Are you always in a cash crunch when payroll comes around? Are your partner’s drawings inconsistent? Accounts Receivable (AR) aging with a large concentration of receivables in the 60–90+ day buckets indicates a warning sign of possible upcoming cash flow pressure. Firms that review AR aging monthly can forecast short-term cash needs with far more […]
What Gets Measured Gets Rewarded: Attorney Performance and KPI Reporting
In law firms where partner compensation is tied to performance, KPI reports create an objective foundation for compensation discussions. They replace opinion-based debates with data-driven ones. High-performing attorneys who can see clearly how their contributions are valued are less likely to leave. A well-structured attorney performance report goes beyond simply tracking billable hours. The metrics […]
AR Aging and Utilization Rates: Where Law Firm Profitability Is Really Made
A law firm can be billing at full capacity and still wonder why it isn’t profitable. High revenue means little if client write-offs are excessive, individual attorneys are not billing at capacity, collection efforts aren’t being met, or overhead is increasing. Without a structured KPI report, these inefficiencies often go unnoticed until it becomes a […]
From Guesswork to Strategy: Why Your Law Firm Needs a Financial KPI Report
Law firms are experts at managing complexity for their clients. But when it comes to managing their own firm finances, many still rely on just the basics—a combination of the bank balance, total invoices, and the tax return summary—to gauge how their firm is doing. Those are pieces of a larger puzzle: a financial KPI […]
ABA Ethics Opinion 517: New ABA Ethics Opinion Clarifies Jury Selection Obligations for Lawyers
The American Bar Association has issued Formal Opinion 517, shedding important light on how Model Rule 8.4(g) applies to peremptory jury strikes. The opinion reinforces that lawyers may not use peremptory challenges to unlawfully discriminate during jury selection, even unintentionally. California’s Rule 8.4.1 is closely aligned with Model Rule 8.4(g), so the opinion also provides […]