The deeper reasons require an understanding of the gender bias inherent both
in law firm structures and in the often, unconscious attitudes of senior lawyers.
The development of compliance specialists and ethics advisors is a business practice which could potentially be imported in a
large law firm structure.
The goal of this project is to assist lawyers and their firms by providing practical guidance
on law firm structures, policies and procedures to ensure that ethical duties to clients, third parties and the public are fulfilled.
The increased popularity of arbitration and ADR has also led to changes in the way South Africa's
leading law firms structure their litigation teams.
The Nova Scotia Barristers» Society released a detailed report last October entitled «Transforming Regulation and Governance in the Public Interest» — a thorough look at all the seeds of change from technology through unbundling,
new law firm structures, globalization, the greying bar, growth of in - house counsel, and more.
Variations of Hourly Billing:
Law firms structure hourly billing arrangements to take into account the marketing aspects of their charges by deviating from straight hourly rate charges.
I tried but wasn't able to figure out how to do this within traditional
law firm structures because, candidly, the entrenched model of these structures presented too many economic and cultural impediments.
Molot argues that not only would this change in
law firm structure alleviate the previously mentioned flaws in the current structure, but it would allow firms to leverage debt or equity to finance growth.
Part 2 studies leadership within the context of law firms and discusses
how law firm structure, culture and politics, as well as lawyers» personalities and attitudes create special challenges for all law firm leaders but especially for women.
They included the following main areas: law firm profitability and fee structures; managing the people within a firm; the globalization of law and how Canadian firms fit in; and the future
of law firm structures, especially in the aftermath of legal giant Dewey & LeBoeuf's demise.
And all of those things allowed us to have a margin that was comparable to the margins of traditional law, but at the same time, at half the price of what our lawyers would be charging if they were operating under a different and more
traditional law firm structure.
On the international scene, we are starting to hear about radical changes
in law firm structure and ownership in the UK as they embrace a new regulatory scheme for law firms.
However, it becomes clear from reading the report that ABS had to show itself to be demonstrably better than traditional
law firm structures.
The company has been an aggressive proponent of Alternative Business Structures (ABS),
a law firm structure that permits non-lawyers to own law firms.
Two of the most popular methods are 1) a completely web - based virtual law office providing limited scope representation to online clients or 2) a virtual law office that has been integrated into the practice management methods of a traditional
law firm structure.
From harnessing new technologies, to minimizing costs through alternate workspace arrangements and
law firm structures, and expanding a firm's online presence through social media and other avenues of client engagement and management, the practice of law is rapidly changing and as the pace of technological innovation accelerates the legal world will have to continue evolving to keep up.
Access to justice, professional regulation, and
law firm structures are areas that also have to evolve.
Year by year, the traditional
law firm structure is going to have a tougher time justifying itself as a competitive business model, and only the highest of the high - end operations are going to be able to do that.
One option could be to formalize other legal avenues for young lawyers (female / male alike) other than the traditional
law firm structure: non-profits, inhouse, and teaching are some options.
The book is divided into three sections: the unique challenges facing women leaders (barriers, gender bias, leadership styles, traps for women to avoid); leadership in law firms (
law firm structure and politics, challenges leading partners, defining leadership in the law firm context); and finally, becoming the leader you aspire to be (ambition, strategy, personal power, resilience and empowerment).
The first was to implement caps for referral fees, ostensibly in response to
law firms structured to primarily generate revenue through referrals.
Obstacles such as the billable hour,
law firm structures, remuneration systems and the very nature of law as a profession make the challenges perennial.
A strong, centralized and business - savvy management structure that can assemble an association of networks with the right reward structure and technology — one that drives value, efficiency, and an integrated global delivery capability not dependent upon the traditional
law firm structure — might just be the surprise winner of the pundits» «let's pick the disruptor» parlor game.
I further predict that
the law firm structure will eventually shift from a pyramid structure to having a couple junior lawyers supporting each senior lawyer.
● Clients are becoming more focused on their legal spend, and
law firm structures will suffer with clients wanting more work by partners rather than associates --» the future of the law firm is not a pyramid» — a serious threat to the profitability of the traditional law firm model.
It also describes the need to align HR and law firm strategy through talent management, and to adapt leadership and talent management best practices to
law firm structures and challenges.