Description

With rising competition putting pressure on law firms to raise their performance levels, Alan Hodgart’s Performance Measurement for Law Firms could not be more timely.

Hodgart, an acknowledged industry expert, provides practical step-by-step guidance on how to effectively measure the performance of your fee earners, core support functions and overall firm.

Hodgart highlights the key challenges many law firms face when measuring performance and provides critical advice on how to tackle them successfully through the development of an effective performance measurement system. Key topics covered include:

• Measuring performance in law firms – what it means and what to measure;
• The key financial measures of profitability and how to calculate them – cost, profit, revenue;
• The data and financial information required at firm and practice-group level;
• The effective use, and abuses of financial data;
• Aligning the economic structure of your type of work to maximise profitability;
• Implementing an effective performance measurement system;
• How to measure the performance of your fee earners and support staff – finance, IT, Marketing, HR, KM and other;
• Client profitability, project management and much more…

The report focuses particularly on profitability and demonstrates how it can be used to monitor and compare the outcomes of working with different clients to project future revenue and profit levels.

It also includes a useful appendix – an ‘Economic Template’ which demonstrates how to assemble the relevant data to manage the financial performance of your firm. 

Performance Measurement for Law Firms is essential reading for any firm looking to measure and enhance all areas of their performance.

Contents

Chapter 1: Measuring performance in law firms – What it means and what to measure

Chapter 2: The key financial measures of profitability

Chapter 3: The uses and abuses of financial data

Chapter 4: Measuring fee-earner performance

Chapter 5: Measuring the performance of support functions

Chapter 6: Client profitability and project management

Chapter 7: The art and science of measuring performance

Chapter 8: Issues in setting budgets for the next financial year

Chapter 9: Setting fees that balance the firm’s and client’s interests

Chapter 10: Deleveraging – The case for and against

Chapter 11: Performance trends for the year

Authors