Higher profits come at a cost. Be careful what you wish for.
As a multiple-decade veteran of Big Law, I vividly remember the many debates about whether practicing law was a profession or a business. I was often leading these discussions as the firm-wide managing partner of operations of a global law firm. How could a firm with over 1,000 lawyers, over $1 billion in revenue, and over 20 offices be anything but a business?
In an attempt to gain the latest insights on strategy, finance, human resources, outsourcing, and IT, I eagerly read every issue of Harvard Business Review. I remember years ago having to overcome the partners’ resistance to being paid only by direct deposit and to increasing the partner-to-secretary ratio beyond 1-to-1. Now that I am gone from Big Law and managing a law-school legal clinic where I am still practicing law (but with startups and other micro businesses), I frequently question whether being so focused on productivity and efficiency in my former life was worth the price. Perhaps giving up a few ticks in profits per partner (PPP) would have made my firm a better place.
In this Labor Day essay, I’ll offer some second thoughts on the business of law,
Continue Reading Labor Day reflections, including some second thoughts, on the business of law (327)
