November 28, 2006
Wasserman on Law Firm Management
Marcia Watson Wasserman has an insightful article in the October issue of The Bottom Line, the publication of the Law Practice Management and Technology Section of the California Bar.
In her article, “Managing Law Firms in the 21st Century,” she reminds us how far professional management has come since the 1970s—from the benevolent dictator to the management by committee period to today.
What about today? Some law firms have it all together. Others do not. She notes that, in general, there is still a void in leadership and management training in most firms. She notes that too many firms select managing partners by default “without regard for business acumen and ‘people skills’.” Likewise, management by committee can lead to analysis paralysis without a strong leader capable of facilitating meetings that reach decisions. And like morepartnerincome, she stresses the importance of strategic planning as essential to position firms for success going forward.
I shared the podium with Marcia Wasserman in June 2006 at the ALM Small Firm Business Conference in Los Angeles where she spoke on succession planning. You can forget about passing the baton if you have no one to pass it to. In order for a law firm to take on a life beyond that of its current partners, it must develop management and leadership deep within the organization. Wasserman stresses the importance of management training. She encourages involving associates in the committee process to develop their skills. She emphasizes that those in management positions have to be compensated for their managerial role. To not do so leaves the best potential talent concentrating on more individually lucrative billable activities while encouraging others to take on the management roles for the wrong reasons.
Her comments ring true when you consider the results of the recent Juris Law Firm Economic Survey. The top performing firms, those with partner incomes of twice the next best performing group, got where they are because they planned, set goals, measured performance, and held people accountable. They could not have done so without having partners in leadership positions with people skills who understood the financial metrics that drive law firm performance then paid attention to the numbers. Magic happens when people pursue common goals guided by a shared set of core beliefs. You don’t get magic by default!
Marcia Watson Wasserman is President of Comprehensive Management Solutions, Inc. and special advisor to the executive committee of the Law Practice Management and Technology Section of the California Bar.
Morepartnerincome.com is sponsored by Juris, Inc. For information about Juris® products and services for increasing law firm performance and partner income, go to www.Juris.com.
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