Walker Clark
Worldview Archives
Preparing for the Trojan Horse
As reported recently in this blog, Indian lawyers anticipate a liberalization of restrictions on foreign lawyers and law firms in the near future; although the concept is not without opposition from some members of the profession. Walker Clark clients elsewhere also have had to respond to the effects that the entry of foreign lawyers and law firms have in markets that previously were largely insulated, either by local market conditions or by regulatory design, from foreign competition.
Our experiences advising national and local firms in these markets suggest five basic questions that lawyer and law firms should ask as they start planning to meet these new competitive challenges.
What is the ROI for your partner compensation system?
At Walker Clark we view partnership compensation as a strategic issue. Our experience advising law firms worldwide demonstrates that a fully informed, well thought-out partner compensation system can produce a clear and measurable positive return on investment in less than two years. A good compensation system is also a major factor in creating long-term sustainable profitability.
A bad system, however, usually produces no ROI at all, and sometimes even a negative one.
Resisting the Temptation to Cut Costs
Although some of the world's law firms are beginning to enjoy the results of a slow economic recovery, many others are not. In eastern Europe and Russia, for example, many firms are confronting the prospects of sharply declining fee revenues in 2015 from what were some of their most profitable practice areas and clients in 2013 and 2014. In such a scenario, it is very tempting to start cutting operating costs.
Resist that temptation.
