The ABA’a Law Practice magazine asked us to contribute an article for its finance column, drawing upon data collected at The MPF 2014 Leadership Conference. Eighty-five (85) managing partners, mostly from mid-size law firms, attended the full-day conference, and we used audience polling technology to query the crowd about a range of topics.
The article highlights data about financial performance so far this year, alternative fee arrangements and the metric most preferred by managing partners to assess their firms’ overall financial health.
- 2014 Has Been a Pretty Good Year for MidLaw
Forty-two percent (42%) of managing partners said their firms were performing about as expected so far in 2014. Thirty-six percent (36%) said they were beating expectations. - AFA’s Are Not Exactly Taking Off
Forty-eight percent (48%) of managing partners reported that alternative fee arrangements (AFAs) represent less than 5% of firm revenue. Twenty-one percent (21%) said it’s in the 6-10% range. Twenty-seven percent (27%) said they proactively pitch AFAs, with 2/3 reporting little interest from clients. - It’s About the Bottom Line
Twenty-five percent (25%) of firm leaders said they believe that “Total Firm-wide Profit” is the best indicator of a firm’s overall health. Twenty-one percent (21%) preferred “Revenue per Lawyer.”
We also write about succession planning in the article. Are your firm’s current crop of young lawyers up to the task of inheriting the place?