Case Study 1
The Future-Focused Firm
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34-year-old firm with 8 partners (5 equity and 2 non-equity) and 10 associates.
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Practice areas: Insurance Defense, General Litigation, Real Estate.​
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The managing partner (also the founder) was concerned about the firm's future due to the struggle with recruiting and retaining talent, rate pressure from insurer clients, and the fact that he was the biggest rainmaker in the firm, responsible for 36% of revenue.
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More than half of the partners were 60+ years old and it was unclear if any of the associates were qualified to enter the leadership queue.
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The partners all shared great relationships, but avoided difficult conversations.
1
Assessment
We conducted individual and confidential interviews with all the stakeholders, carefully assessing and comparing their perspectives, experiences, and sensitivities. We also reviewed and evaluated their website, social media, and employee review sites to get a feel for their culture and brand. In addition, we reviewed the firm's current clients, practice groups, rates, attorney skill sets, market opportunities, and realization rate to identify ways to boost profitability.
2
Alignment
We facilitated a 2-day planning session designed to foster an environment of trust, productive communication, creative solutions, open idea-sharing, and constructive feedback. At the end of the sessions, we had updated the firm's vision/mission/values, clearly defined the culture, compiled a list of short and long-term goals for the firm, developed a plan for the managing partner's retirement, identified 2 of the associates who merited an invitation to join the partnership based on criteria established by the group, and assigned specific tasks with deadlines.
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As a follow-up to the meetings, we created a strategic roadmap document for the firm to follow to provide accountability and metrics.
3
Engagement and Implementation
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We helped the firm create task forces for succession planning, professional development/training, recruiting, and marketing.
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We recommended and facilitated the hiring of an Executive Director to relieve most of the administrative duties that required 15-45 hours of each partner's time every month (equivalent of lost billing of between $35,000-$65,000 a month)
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Delivered workshops and individual coaching to various partners, associates, and staff to strengthen their leadership and management skills.
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​Established an organizational chart clarifying responsibilities and a supervisory structure designed to provide much-needed support for developing associates.
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Developed an engagement strategy that included branding, universal messaging, guidelines for firm citizenship, a formalized onboarding program, and measurable goals for recruitment and retention of both employees and clients.
4
Measuring Results
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A succession plan was created to ensure the managing partner's smooth transition to full retirement within 5 years as well as establishing next steps for transitioning the remaining senior partners within 10 years.
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The partners scheduled agenda-led monthly and quarterly meetings to provide a regular cadence for communication and decision-making.
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An Executive Director was hired and freed up the equivalent of 2.5X his salary in partner billing opportunities per year.
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Increased firm billing by $220,000+.
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Raised rates across the board by $15-25/hour, which increased revenue by $650,000+.
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Expanded higher rate practice areas (general litigation, business, and real estate) through talent reallocation and strategic marketing, which led to $670,000+ of new business in one year.
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Reduced associate turnover, saving north of $600,000 in one year.
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MINIMUM PROJECT ROI (1st year): $2,325,000+