Mid-Size and Small Law Firms Confident They Can Succeed
NEW YORK – Leaders of mid-size and small law firms are meeting or exceeding their profitability goals, and are confident in their ability to succeed in the current legal environment. Those are among the findings of a recent survey conducted by Thomson Reuters and the Managing Partner Forum.
Thomson Reuters is the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. The Managing Partner Forum helps law firm managing partners sharpen their leadership effectiveness, and hosts a highly acclaimed conference series for leaders of smaller and mid-size law firms.
The 2015 survey of mid-size and small law firms included 145 managing partners and other leaders of firms up to 174 lawyers in size. More than two-thirds of law firm leaders surveyed said they are extremely confident or very confident that their firm will succeed in the current legal market. Nearly 90 percent said their firms either met or exceeded their profitability goals in 2014.
Larger mid-size firms – those with 80 to 174 lawyers – feel that price competition and changing legal fee structures are the current market trends having the greatest impact on their firms. Leaders at firms with fewer than 80 lawyers are more focused on increased information management challenges. Across the board, a majority of firms said adopting new technologies has been the single biggest change that has helped to improve lawyer efficiency in their firm.
“Growth for growth’s sake is no longer the objective in today’s rapidly evolving market,” said John Remsen Jr., president and CEO of the Managing Partner Forum. “Firms are now focused on achieving modest growth, enhancing profitability and delivering more value to clients. Making smart investments in technology, time and talent are increasingly the paths firms are taking to increase efficiency and reduce cost pressures.”
“Growing select practices and growing while maintaining quality are the biggest opportunities that firm leaders are identifying,” said Charlotte Rushton, managing director at Thomson Reuters overseeing mid-size and large law firms in the U.S. “Firms are concentrating on growing their top-line and increasing efficiency, instilling confidence that they can achieve their goals of growth with good profitability.”
To download the full report, visit http://legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/law-products/news-views/managing-partners/key-to-smart-growth. For more information on the Managing Partner Forum, visit ManagingPartnerForum.org. For additional information about Thomson Reuters Managing Partner Series and its collection of best practices reports, peer profiles and current trends coverage to help midsize firms manage and grow, visit legalsolutions.com/managing-partner.
