What is the Fair Market Value of a Full Service Commercial Law Firm?

Posted on February 28, 2012 by kowalskiandassociates

Ever wonder what your law firm is worth? Here’s a shocker: Nothing, zero, zilch, nada.

While law firms around the world are scrambling for cash and the folks across the pond are counting money they will never receive under Tesco rules, as some foolishly believe that nonlawyer private equity investors are lining up to invest in law firms and make these partners even richer than Croesus, the truth is that it’s not happening. Commercial law firms, with their current business models simply have no value that can be realized.

It’s time to think out of the box and develop new business models.

Filed under: Alternative Business Structires for Law Firms, Downsourcing legal services, Global law firms, Lateral law firm partner, Lateral law firm partner movement, Lateral Partner, Law Firm Dissolution, Law Firm Dissolutions, Law firm financial reporting, Law Firm Implosions, Law firm management, Law firm management strategies, Law firm partner layoffs, Navigating the Perfect Storm: Recruiting, Retaining and Training Lawyers in the Coming Decade, Tesco Models for Lw Firms, The Law Firm of the Twenty-first Century | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 21 Comments »

I am Shocked, Shocked to Learn that Some Law Firms Puff their Own Financial Reports

Posted on August 25, 2011 by kowalskiandassociates

In what may be a battle of titans or perhaps an insignificant street brawl, The Wall Street Journal recently had Citibank duking it out with the American Lawyer. The Journal reported that most AmLaw 200 firms materially misstate their numbers when reporting to AmLaw for the much (over) heralded annual AmLaw rankings. Citibank, probably correctly, acknowledged that it was the repository of actual and precise law firm financial reporting.

The puffing endemic in the AmLaw annual rankings is quite open, notorious and sometimes rather brazen.

At the end of the day, one might wonder “what’s the point?” No informed professional would make an important decision, whether it be to join a firm, do business with a law firm or lend to a law firm based solely on the AmLaw reports. There is simply no substitute for real due diligence.

The real question is why there is so much why is there so much ado here?

Filed under: Law Firm Dissolution, Law Firm Dissolutions, Law firm financial reporting, Law firm management, Law firm management strategies, Law Firm Risk Management, The Law Firm of the Twenty-first Century | Tagged: , , , , | 7 Comments »

Tip Toe Through the Tulips: The “New” New (Old) Way to Market Legal Services

Posted on June 6, 2011 by kowalskiandassociates

Open Market Auction Exchanges for the Purchase and Sale of Legal Services: An idea whose time has come?

We are still very much in a buyer’s market for legal services. Supply continues to far outstrip demand. Law firms large and small have generally seen their revenues to continue to decline over the past several years.

Clients, again, large and small, are continuing to put substantial pricing pressure on their lawyers. In many instances, long term relationships between client and lawyer have taken a second seat to pricing factors. Clients routinely shop matters around with several prospective law firms. Corporate clients are more often issuing RFP’s for legal work.

The next phase in this evolution may well be open market auction exchanges in which there are open auctions for law firms to bid competitively and openly against one another for legal work.

Filed under: Alternative fee Arrangements, Downsourcing legal services, Internet based marketing, Law Firm Internet Based Marketing, Law firm management, Law firm management strategies, Law firm marketing, Law Firm Risk Management, Marketing the Law Firm on the Internet, Strategic law firm planning, The Law Firm of the Twenty-first Century, Value Billing | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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