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SEPT
2003
What's
New
1. A Real Life Lateral's
Story
2. Creating Business
Plans
3. Intervention versus
Termination
4. Broadcast and Newsletter
Directory | |
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LATERALS provides more than 12,000
law firm partners with monthly information on recruiting
and lateraling issues. We
are attorney recruiters who have lateraled and/or merged over
1,000 attorneys since 1979. As a result, LATERALS is
about the real world of lateraling. Visit the Sears & Associates web
site at www.Mentoringpros.com
and learn about our unique attorney recruiting services. Visit
our Media
Center to listen to and read about our view on rainmaking,
lateraling activities and to read back issues of LATERALS,
online. | |
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THE WORLD OF
LATERALS
THE LATERAL'S STORY: A
REAL LIFE LOOK AT LEGAL CAUTION
There is no more difficult part of lateraling a
new partner than estimating his book of business. Both
the new firm and the potential lateral want to be as flexible
as possible about their compensation and billing
estimates. As a result, there are countless scenes like
the one we're going to portray taking place in law firm
conference rooms. This scene is condensed for brevity. But
about the only thing that's missing is the polite social
interchange.
This story has four possible
results. They are shown at the end. You can take your
choice...kind of like a murder mystery in which you can choose
the ending. Your choice may help you put your own Firm's
approach in perspective.
When the
receptionist saw him get off the elevator, she thought, "now
there's a guy who could pose for an ad about lawyers...not
bad...in fact pretty near perfect...perfect pin
stripe...perfect look. I wonder if he's
married...probably is...well, they all are.
But all she said
was, "Can I help you, sir?"
"I'm Brad Talbert. I'm here to
see Mr Carney for an 11 o'clock appointment."
Three minutes later
Brad had been whisked into a conference room, where Paul
Carney waited with two other people. "Brad, it's great to see
you again. This is Bill Driver and Miriam
Hardy...they're in our business group...coffee, orange
juice?..."
Brad said, "Thanks, just
coffee please. Jerry told me that you would have some of
your corporate partners here to talk about my practice and
book of business. He said that you'd want to go over my
book of business. I don't have the vaguest idea what it
will be."
The three attorneys sitting
around the conference table just looked at each other in
stunned silence for what felt like long minutes until, Paul,
the Managing Partner, said...to
continue reading click here>>> ... and
to get another cartoon click here.
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THE
WORLD OF LATERALS
PROJECTING PRACTICE RESULTS
ABSTRACT
Legal practice billings projections have become
increasingly more common. They enable a more precise,
less emotional, practice projection. The projections can
be tied into the economy for that practice area which helps
materially in making it more specific.
This article is about overcoming
the obstacles to making law practice business plans. The main
obstacles are the lateraling attorneys themselves.
Creating a business plan for your practice can be about as
enjoyable as having a root canal. This is mainly because
law practice culture makes it such a risky task.
Projections are certainly one of
the big five issues in lateraling. The next four issues
will be covered in future months and shown at the end of this
article. If
you would like to see an outline of the article
>>>
THE
LAWYER'S BUSINESS PLAN
This is about how a business plan can be used to
project legal billings. Twenty years ago, in law
practice, we hardly ever heard of business plans. Even
ten years ago, when I was lateraling partners, there wasn't a
significant requirement for business plans. Since
then, business plans have become a critical part of
lateraling. As a result I can now spend as much as
three to four hours with a lateraling candidate helping them
prepare their business plan.
Our firm's own recent survey indicates
that about 60% of law firms now require a lateral to provide a
business plan. A clear reason is that the business of
law has found that without a business plan it is a challange
to estimate: candidate interest, compensation, fit or
position. Business plans are the universal method of
forecasting results, in every industry and profession except
law. What is our impediment? To
continue reading click here>>> or to get
another lateral's cartoon click
here>>> | |
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THE WORLD OF
LATERALS
INTERVENTION.
CREATING NEW PRODUCING PARTNERS OUT OF UNSATISFACTORY EXISTING
ONES
Why don't law
firms intervene, as is done in industry, when a partner's
origination results are consistently below firm
standards? What is it about intervention, in a law firm,
that makes it a less preferable alternative to
termination? If termination is the final act ending the
relationship, is that better than giving the terminated
partner both the motivation and the opportunity to correct his
performance?
The most common answers to these basic questions
show that law firms are behind most other professional groups
in rescuing non-producers from themselves. The most
dominant reason for firm terminations vs. intervention is
that the general assumption in law firms is that 'a repeated
word to the wise' is sufficient. Thus, after a low
productivity partner has been spoken to a number of times
without result, it is assumed that "he knew what was
coming."
But they seldom do know, or want to think about,
what is coming. A natural human assumption is to believe
that things will continue as they are. The only way to
get them to understand is to take actions similar to those
that the corporate world evokes. To illustrate, even the
most high level and highly paid big ticket
'relationship' salespeople (e.i.: Boeing, GE, Morgan
Stanley, etc.) go through an intervention process when their
production falls off. These
firms "fire" them by ending their: draw,
compensation and/or privileges. Then the salesperson is
offered a new employment contract that requires that he spend
whatever time necessary in assessment and
treatment.
The salesperson is not permitted back in
the active fold until a professional third party has
recommended it. The risk the company is avoiding is
a problem and/or demoralization resulting from a consistent
high visibility non-performer. Is that much different
than a malpractice action and/or demoralization arising from a
consistent high visibility low producing attorney, who happens
to be a partner?
In the law, the toughest issue is about
productivity problems resulting from low self-esteem. It
is this that causes almost all client relationship-crippling
behaviors.
Learn
more about the five most often given reasons for partner
termination vs.
rehabilitation. | |
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IMPROVING RAINMAKING
SKILLS
ARE YOU A RAINMAKER? FIND OUT
RIGHT HERE.
The senior management of your law firm constantly measures
the amount of new business, or 'rain' that you originate
in order to evaluate your performance, determine you
compensation, and pay your bonuses, if any. If you're not
satisfied with your results, or worse, you firm's not
satisfied with your results, do you know where to turn to find
out why you can't make enough rain to satisfy your
partners?
Three years ago we created a Confidential Rainmaking
Analysis questionnaire whose results conclusively tell
you why you can't make enough rain. Sound impossible? Well
it's not. It's worked time and time again for
thousands of attorneys. We published the questionnaire online,
so you can answer the questions and get your report,
anonymously, from our secure web site.
I wrote "Making Rain" and created its Confidential
Rainmaking Analysis to allow attorneys to see themselves
through their answers to questions about the book's
characters. After reading the book, you're invited to answer
150 questions about the characters and their responses to
the scenarios that I've laid out in the book. The
result is a capsulized view of yourself since people generally
answer questions about other's activities through their own
eyes.
You
can purchase "Making Rain" and then complete the
Confidential Rainmaking Analysis online, both
for $70.00. | |
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© 2003.
Sears & Associates. All rights reserved.
Laterals is published monthly by
Sears & Associates, a national attorney search firm since
1979.
About Laterals and your
subscription:
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Executive Editor: Jerry Sears jerry@mentoringpros.com
Publisher: Ellen Caravello ellen@mentoringpros.com
Copy Editor: Judith Sanchez, Mentoring Pros, Inc. judy@mentoringpros.com
ePublishing Manager: Deb Daufeldt, Second Story Solutions,
LLC deb@mentoringpros.com
Technology
Evangelist: Mark Margaretten, Second Story Solutions, LLC mark@mentoringpros.com
WebMaster:
Chris Pelosi, e-techStrategies LLP webmaster@mentoringpros.com
Sears & Associates
RECRUITING AND DEVELOPING RAINMAKERS SINCE
1979
Delray Beach, FL USA
(561) 638-4750
phone
(561) 637-6585 fax
Web Site: http://www.mentoringpros.com
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