BEING A SUCCESSFUL NEW PARTNER
ON-DEMAND: Choose 4 weeks of access for the entire firm – and start viewing sessions the day you register.
Session 1 – The Obligations of Partnership (90 minutes)
Session 2 – How Law Firms Make Money (60 minutes)
Session 3 – The Balance Sheet and Capital (60 minutes)
Session 4 – Calculating Profitability (60 minutes)
Session 5 – What Clients Want (90 minutes)
New partners represent the future of your law firm. And in today’s highly-competitive environment, you need to ensure that every partner is fully engaged, productive and profitable from year one. That’s why Altman Weil has developed a training series to give your new partners insight on the business of law, a solid foundation in law firm economics, and guidance on building sustainable client relationships.
Altman Weil’s Being a Successful New Partner delivers six hours of content in five convenient sessions to accelerate the professional development of your firm’s future leaders. Content can be accessed on your firm’s timetable. Bring your lawyers together for group learning or take advantage of 24/7 access to accommodate individual schedules.
Registrants will receive written materials to supplement training sessions.
Session 1. The Obligations of Partnership in 21st Century Law Firms
This session will discuss the skills lawyers must master to become fully contributing partners and position themselves for success throughout their careers. (90 minutes)
- Adopting the mindset of an owner
- Understanding and responding to market forces
- Collaborating with your partners and clients
- Making an ongoing investment in your firm’s success
Session 2. How Law Firms Make Money
This session provides an overview of the law firm operating model and the financial basics that every partner needs to understand. (60 minutes)
- The fundamentals of law firm economics
- The levers of profitability
- Operational issues: People, process, space, technology
- Lawyer compensation from an owner’s perspective
Session 3. The Balance Sheet and Capital
This session offers a practical, plain language guide to the numbers you need to know to assess your firm’s financial health. (60 minutes)
- Understanding your law firm’s financial statements
- Key benchmarks to gauge firm health
- The uses of working capital
Session 4. Calculating Profitability
This session follows the flow of law firm revenue, explains underlying costs of service delivery, discusses the impact of pricing decisions, and gives you the tools to analyze firm, practice and individual profit profiles. (60 minutes)
- The revenue stream and realization factors
- A simple cost allocation model
- Putting it all together: Net contribution and profitability
Session 5. What Clients Want – And What You Should Do About It
This session offers guidance on listening to your clients, serving their needs, managing their expectations and building sustainable relationships in an increasingly competitive legal market. (90 minutes)
- Adding value beyond good legal work
- Developing skills that clients care about
- Using pricing, efficiency and service to differentiate your practice
- Making clients the center of your career strategy
Who Should Attend
- All new law firm partners
- Junior partners who need grounding in law firm finance
- Non-equity partners who want to move up the career ladder
- Any partner who wants to become more proactive, productive and profitable
Program Presenters
Thomas S. Clay has been advising law firms on strategy, leadership, management and organization for over thirty years. He is the creator and co-author of Altman Weil’s highly-regarded annual industry survey Law Firms in Transition, which tracks how the business of law is changing.
James D. Cotterman is a principal of Altman Weil. For over 25 years, he has worked with law firms on lawyer compensation, law firm capital structure and other law firm financial issues, as well as management and governance. He is the author of the ABA book Compensation Plans for Law Firms; a member of the Board of Editors of the journal, Accounting and Financial Planning for Law Firms; and formerly acted as supervising author for Matthew Bender’s text How to Manage Your Law Office.
QUESTIONS? Call us for more information at (610) 886-2008, or email seminars@altmanweil.com.