Law firm managing partners should take note: the Big Four are still a big threat. While the Big Four accounting firms seem perpetually mired in allegations of botched, biased or influenced audits, such accusations will do little to stop these firms from offering legal services and taking an increasingly larger slice of the pie from law firms. Law firm managing partners should take note. Mary K Young notes that because the Big Four and other accounting firms have strong, long-term relationships with many of the same clients that law firms are hoping to serve, the Big Four has opportunities to provide legal services simply by virtue of the fact they already have the relationships. She explains that law firms, in a bid to expand their service offerings, aim to deepen their relationships with the client by adding value. But the areas in which law firms are trying to add value often rub up against areas in which accounting and consulting firms excel.

Law firm leaders are keen to compare their results to those of other firms, but that can be a challenge in a segmented market. Mobility-minded lawyers might pay extra attention to the profits per equity partner figures and start to wonder whether they could make more at another. Similarly, some law firm leaders are tempted to compare their metrics with those of other firms. Mary K Young observes that firms that aren’t keeping pace with a growing market will face significant consequences with talent, and the challenge for midsize law firms is to understand the markets and the source of competitive advantage.

In a Q&A session, Kent Zimmermann discusses

• how different models of law firm partner compensation work and how each affects an attorney's approach to business development;
• potential issues or concerns with firms trending toward incentivizing business development via partner compensation; and
• how law firm marketing teams can leverage their knowledge about partner compensation models to help drive BD efforts.

With clear priorities for the firm, which lead to clear priorities for marketing and BD, it’s possible to build a high-performing team that knows what is expected and knows how to prioritize their time and money.

Zeughauser Group's 2021 Pocket Guide to the American Lawyer Rankings of the Am Law 200 by Profits Per Equity Partner and by Value Per Lawyer; The A-List; The Global 100; The Global 200; The China 50; The Asia 50; and The Corporate Scorecard.

If you would like a hard copy of the 2021 ZGuide, please send an email to zgadmin@consultzg.com with "2021 ZGuide Request" in the subject line and provide your mailing address.

Many firms are requiring their personnel to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but they can't ask the same of clients. Meeting with unvaccinated clients is especially a concern for lawyers with young children. Reduced travel is likely to mitigate the need for a firm policy on travel to client sites. Mary K Young comments that in many parts of the country, it likely won’t be an issue. In most major cities, like New York, Chicago and San Francisco, law firms are requiring vaccinations and in those places, their clients probably will be doing the same.  There are certain cities in the southern United States where they never really closed down and pretended the virus doesn’t exist. Those could be problematic.  Young says the likely outcome is a continuation of low travel policies most firms now have in place.

Some law firms are now hesitant  to even impose a definite office return date, while more vaccine mandates are appearing among Sunbelt-based law firms.  Mary K Young observes that these firms are national firms and global firms. They have to be thinking not only about their Southern offices but all their offices.

After the once-in-a-century inflection point of a global pandemic, the legal industry – and all of corporate America – faces another major transition as COVID-19 fades and the “new normal” sets in.  With offices reopening across the country, what lessons will the legal industry retain from the pandemic and what trends from the last 15 months will remain? Just as significantly, what will be the lasting legacy of a national racial reckoning that largely coincided with the worst global health crisis in generations?

These questions were the focus of a distinguished panel of current and former general counsel held on June 8, 2021. The remote gathering was moderated by John Corey, president & founding partner of Greentarget, and Mary K. Young.  And Alex Dimitrief participated as one of the panelists.  This article highlights some of the conversation.

Digital client communications soared during the pandemic. Building on a recent survey by Greentarget, Right Hat and Zeughauser Group, moderators John Corey and Mary K Young will ask a panel of three former and current in-house leaders, including Zeughauser Group partner Alex Dimitrief, to discuss the pros and cons of different approaches. They will tell us what breaks through the clutter and what they ignore, what they look for in law firm content and how they prefer it to be presented.

June 8 at 11:00 AM Eastern time

Register for the panel discussion at LMA In-House Counsel Program

In contrast to the yearslong trend of law firm mergers, Ohio-based Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff has chosen to pursue a growth strategy focused on aggressively recruiting laterals, making more than 70 such hires since the start of 2019 in an approach observers call both impressive and risky.  Benesch has every intention to continue growing — and to do so without mergers. Industry experts said the firm's results so far are impressive and promising, but that the strategy is not without potential downsides. Peter Zeughauser observes that for a firm of Benesch's size, it's striking to see 70 laterals in two years.