Last week was the 13th Annual Law Firm COO & CFO Forum held in New York City with the focus on fostering Innovation in law firms.
Some of the keys ideas I walked away with:
- There are two groups of firms being rewarded: The Go-To firms with excellent reputations whose clients are returning due to the strong brand results.
- Clients are also embracing firms that has demonstrated efficiency and have adapted their model to reflect changes in market
- Firms that are struggling are those that don’t have a strong brand or haven’t made the adjustments needed in the current market
- Major impact on expense line: looking at staffing model and making it as productive as possible
What is in store for 2015?
- Demand will improve
- Careful management of headcount growth will continue to be a focus
- Excess capacity is expected to decline
- Revenue growth will be stronger with mid-digit growth likely
- Expenses are expected to increase at a slower pace than revenue, as firms bring laser focus to efficiency and expenses
- Careful management of equity partner headcount is expected to continue
Overall not a bad assessment of what is happening and pretty good news on what will potentially happen.