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MPF Webinars — 2021

On-demand recordings and handout materials from The MPF Webinar Series — “The Law Firm of the Future” — presented in 2021.
~ Cristina Gonzalez, Esq.

It helped to know that I am not alone and that there are other like-minded women leaders out there.

Capital Partner | Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson
New York, NY
~ John E. Harrity, Esq.

The Managing Partner Forum is a go-to resource for not only what’s currently important to law firm leaders, but how law firm leaders are dealing with the issue of the moment and preparing for those of the future.

Co-Managing Partner | Harrity LLP
Fairfax, VA
~ Heather L. Rosing, Esq.

We have enjoyed working with John Remsen and his talented team. The Managing Partner Forum provides excellent content that truly assists in operating a successful business in today’s challenging environment.

Founding Partner | Rosing Pott & Strohbehn
San Diego, CA
~ Lisa Ramsay Cole, Esq.

The MPF programs always provide relevant, timely educational content. They are high energy and interactive which makes them fun to attend, too.

President & Managing Shareholder | Lewis Thomason
Nashville, TN
~ Mark A.B. Carlson, Esq.

Great conference, thank you for the invitation.

Chief Growth Officer | Baker Donelson
Atlanta, GA
~ Kellie L. Howard, Esq.

The information sharing at the MPIEs is especially valuable.

Chief Executive Officer | Collins Einhorn Farrell PC
Southfield, MI
~ Eileen R. Fullerton, Esq.

My partner and I really enjoyed the conference and we look forward to attending again next year.

Managing Partner | Fullerton Beck LLP
White Plains, NY
~ Ms. Natasa Karambatsos

Connecting with other firm leaders, as it felt more like a ‘retreat’ than a ‘conference.’ Fantastic format allowed for great information and advice sharing.

Managing Partner | KRB Lawyers
Montreal, QC
~ Charles B. Jimerson, Esq.

I go to a lot of conferences, and your event is the one I look forward to and gain the most from each year. The power of this group is incredible. So privileged to be a part of it. Thank you for what you do for our industry.

Chief Executive Officer | Jimerson Birr, PA
Jacksonville, FL
~ Linda Perez Clark, Esq.

Connecting with other firm leaders, as it felt more like a ‘retreat’ than a ‘conference.’ Fantastic format allowed for great information and advice sharing.

Managing Partner | Kean Miller
Baton Rouge, LA
~ Evan D. Schein, Esq.

ATL was a great time, and I really enjoyed the conference, as always.

~ Parker J. Lavin, Esq.

That was my first experience at the conference, and it was tremendously valuable.

Founding Member | Lavin Rindner Duffield LLC
St. Simons Island, GA
~ Whitney Cunningham, Esq.

Great job! Keep it going. Thank you for the excellent work you do for the profession.

Managing Partner | Aspey, Watkins & Diesel PLLC
Flagstaff, AZ
~ Russ Brown, Esq.

The collegiality and brainstorming opportunities can’t be beat.

Managing Partner | Brown Fox PLLC
Dallas, TX
~ Talon J. Powers, Esq.

The MPF Conference is always a great event. The MPIEs and Workshops were really good this year.

~ William O. London, Esq.

I love this conference!

Partner | Kimura London & White LLP
Irvine, CA
~ Eileen M. Letts, Esq.

The program topics are timely and well presented. Every time I attend, I learn something new.

Partner | Zuber Lawler
Chicago, IL
~ Ms. Lisa Armstrong

MPF is on top of the issues facing firm leaders, often before we even see them coming in our own firms, and provides timely advice from industry experts to see us through them.

Managing Partner | SBA Lawyers LLP
Kitchener, ON
~ Thomas C. Grella, Esq.

I highly recommend the MPF Leadership Conference. I’ve participated many times, as have several of my partners. We leave with new ideas and fresh perspectives every time.

Past Managing Partner | McGuire Wood & Bissette
Asheville, NC
~ Robert A. Young, Esq.

Hands down the best leadership conference for managing partners I’ve ever attended.

Managing Partner | English Lucas Priest Owsley
Bowling Green, KY
~ Marc D. Chapman, Esq.

This is my 12th or 13th time attending, and it’s always the best conference I attend every year.

President | Dean Mead
Orlando, FL
~ Wilbur E. Johnson, Esq.

The MPIEs are interesting, informative and very useful!

Partner | Clement Rivers, LLP
Charleston, SC
~ Jason P. Waguespack, Esq.

I look forward to this Conference every year. It really helps me to be a more effective firm leader.

Managing Director | Galloway Johnson
New Orleans, LA
~ Jason M. Casini, Esq.

MPF provides tremendous value and excellent resources. Great information. Great speakers. Great networking opportunities.

Past Managing Partner | Whitfield & Eddy Law
Des Moines, IA

MPF Webinars

MPF Webinars — 2021

Below (in reverse chronological order) are links to the on-demand recordings and handout materials for The MPF Webinars we presented in 2021. Moderated by John Remsen, Jr. and Uri Gutfreund, these sessions are fast-paced, highly interactive and full of benchmarking data.

December 1, 2021

by Managing Partner Forum with Ella Gower, Andy Hoedt, Rob Mattern and Nathan Curtis
During the Webinar, we gathered and presented lots of data on our topic, and we learned the following:
  • Twenty-seven percent (27%) say their firm’s insurance provider is pressing for more attention on this issue. Twenty-four percent (24%) say their clients are pressing. But the real catalyst for better Information Governance is coming from law firm COOs and CIOs say seventy-six percent (76%) of our participants.
  • Attorney resistance to change is the #1 hurdle to implementing Information Governance policies.
  • Thirty-two percent (32%) of participating firms have formal Information Governance policies in place. Compliance is frequently a challenge.
  • Forty-four percent (44%) of firms have record retention schedules in place for both paper and electronic records. Thirty percent (30%) have schedules for paper records only. Twenty five percent (25%) do not have retention schedules in place.
  • Eighty-three percent (83%) say Information Governance is an important strategic priority for 2022.
  • COVID has accelerated the integration of better technology practices into most mid-sized law firms.
  • Recent studies by Deloitte and McKinsey report that organizations embracing “digital transformation” significantly outperform competitors.

October 13, 2021

by Managing Partner Forum with Don Mrozek
Our guest speaker was Donald L. Mrozek, Esq., Chair Emeritus and Chair of the Professional Services Practice Group at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP. One-hundred fifteen (115) managing partners and firm leaders participated in the live session, and here a few interesting data points we gathered:
  • Twelve percent (12%) of firm leaders report to have a “clearly articulated” succession plan in place at their firms
  • Sixty-five percent (65%) say their firms are doing a “fair” or “poor” job identifying and grooming future firm leaders
  • Twenty-one percent (21%) have mandatory de-equitization provisions in their firm’s partnership agreements
In recent years, we have observed that “succession planning” is emerging as a top priority for many smaller and midsize law firms. Clearly, there are opportunities for most firms to improve as they look to the future and seek to implement strategies and initiatives to assure smooth and successful transition.

September 1, 2021

by Managing Partner Forum with Uri Gutfreund and John Remsen, Jr.
Law firm leaders crave timely, relevant data about industry trends and how other firms do things, so on this edition we presented a change of pace from our usual program format with two or three guest speakers. Rather, we asked 20 rapid-fire live audience polling questions. Here is a sampling of what we learned:
  • Thirty-two percent (32%) of firm leaders report that their firms have made significant changes to their compensation systems in the past five years.
  • Sixty-two percent (62%) of firm leaders describe their firms’ compensation systems as “mostly objective,” with thirty-eight percent (38%) heavy on “collections” and twenty-four percent (24%) heavy on “origination credit.”
  • Forty-five percent (45%) report a trend toward “more objectivity” in their systems in recent years.
  • Forty-one percent (41%) say their compensation process are trending toward “more transparency” in recent years.
  • Firms are trending away from “seniority” as factor and assigning more weight for “firm-building” contributions.
  • Most firm leaders (53%) report a multiple of three-four between the lowest and highest compensated equity partner.
  • Thirty percent (30%) say that top performers are undercompensated.
  • Seventy-two percent (72%) say that chronic underperformers are overcompensated
If compensation is on the agenda at your firm’s leadership meetings, this is good stuff to share.

August 4, 2021

by Managing Partner Forum with John Harrity and Charles Jimerson
This month, we invited John Harrity, Managing Partner of Harrity & Harrity in Fairfax, Virgina; and Charlie Jimerson, Managing Partner of Jimerson Birr in Jacksonville, Florida to discuss how they have built and maintained highly successful cultures at their law firms. We discussed the importance of hiring the right people to begin with, then investing in their career development. We also discussed dealing with “problematic personalities.”
We had an exceptionally candid conversation about this important aspect of law firm leadership.

June 2, 2021

by Managing Partner Forum with Larry Richard
Larry is a long-time member of the MPF Faculty and expert on the lawyer personality. As always, we collect and share current data through survey questions and audience polling. Here is some of what we learned:
  • Eighty percent (80%) of firm leaders think some of their firms’ lawyers are struggling with impacts of COVID. Ninety-two percent (92%) say they have support staff who are struggling.
  • Ninety-three percent (93%) report increased “distractibility” or “anxiety” among their people.
  • Seventy-five percent (75%) of firm leaders say they are proactively reaching out to their people to make sure they are doing OK. People living alone and those with young kids are especially vulnerable.
  • Providing “social support” is the most beneficial thing law firm leaders can do to mitigate the impacts.
Larry provides excellent guidance for law firm leaders and, already, the session has been featured in Law360 in an article by Aebra Coe entitled “How Firm Leaders Can Ease COVID’s Psychological Impacts.” Click here for the article.

April 6, 2021

by Managing Partner Forum with Rob Mattern
On this edition of The MPF Webinar Series called “Your Firm’s Post-Pandemic Workplace Model: How to Find the Right Balance for Your Organization” with Rob Mattern, president and founder of Mattern & Associates, a national leader in law firm operations consulting. In assessing the best workplace model for your firm, we discussed the importance of talking with your people (both lawyers and support staff), your clients and your vendors as you work through these issues.

March 3, 2021

by Managing Partner Forum with Michael Hurley, Jr. and Jon Pinney
Our topic is “Point/CounterPoint: Should We Bring Everybody Back to the Office or Rethink Our Workplace Model?” and 195 firm leaders participated in the live session. Here are a few things we learned:
  • Since COVID hit, managing partners at midsize law firms report that overall productivity is slightly up for partners, slightly down for associates and considerably down for support staff.
  • Forty-three percent (43%) of firm leaders “strongly favor” the concept of a hybrid workplace model
  • Eleven percent (11%) “strongly favor” a full return to the office
We thank Michael J. Hurley, Jr., Managing Partner of New York’s Cassin & Cassin LLP, and Jon J. Pinney, Esq., Managing Partner of Cleveland’s Kohrman Jackson Krantz, for their participation and candid insights on this timely topic.

February 3, 2021

by Managing Partner Forum with Lisa Ramsey Cole and Leslie Packer
On this edition of our series “The Law Firm of the Future,” our guest panelists were Lisa Ramsay Cole, President and Managing Shareholder of Tennessee’s Lewis Thomason, and Leslie Packer, Managing Partner of North Carolina’s Ellis & Winters. One hundred-forty (140) firm leaders participated. Dr. Sharon Meit Abrahams was our guest co-host. As always, we collect and present relevant bench-marking data on our topic, including:
  • Sixty-four percent (64%) of participating firms report challenges retaining women lawyers,
  • Forty-nine percent (49%) have a formal diversity and inclusion initiative in place, and
  • Fifty-six percent (56%) allow for part-time equity partners.
This was our first Webinar dedicated to women in leadership and we will be presenting more such programming in the future.

January 6, 2021

by Managing Partner Forum with Whitney Cunningham and Carson Pearson
One of our most important and thought-provoking Webinars to date, which covered recent developments in Arizona and Utah that are predicted to have profound and fundamental impacts on the legal profession throughout the country. Both states formally allow nonlawyers to co-own law firms and give companies (mostly technology firms) the ability to provide legal services. Bigger states like California, New York, Florida and many others are watching closely and are not far behind in enacting similar reforms. During the session, managing partners Whitney Cunningham of Arizona and Carson Pearson of Utah discussed these changes in their states, how local legal communities are responding and some of the initiatives underway at their law firms. As always, we collect and present current survey data on our topic and incorporate it into the handout materials, which also include a nice article from Bloomberg Law that provides a good national overview of the situation.
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