Transparency hurts - the press and partner profits
"When you are on the receiving end, particularly if you are running a business that is facing tough times, media coverage can feel like you're under siege..."
February 23, 2012 at 07:03 PM
3 minute read
I used to be very dismissive when hearing senior lawyers blame the press for creating an environment in which law firms pursue ever-escalating partner profits. But I'm a little less sure than I used to be.
On one level, it is an exercise in futility and blame-shifting to complain about the media's handling of profits. All businesses have benchmarks for success – a way of ascertaining the share price. And once you move past being a cottage industry, as law did years ago, a market is naturally created for financial information.
It also always struck me as utter hypocrisy when you find partners who greedily lap up reported information about their target clients but want to draw the line at their own firms' workings. And it's true that the single biggest factor in pushing law firms to chase higher profits per equity partner (PEP) has been the 15-year invasion of the Square Mile by more profitable US law firms. One way or another, City firms had to start hiking profitability.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Trending Stories
- 1The Law Firm Disrupted: For Big Law Names, Shorter is Sweeter
- 2Wine, Dine and Grind (Through the Weekend): Summer Associates Thirst For Experience in 'Real Matters'
- 3'That's Disappointing': Only 11% of MDL Appointments Went to Attorneys of Color in 2023
- 4What We Know About the Kentucky Judge Killed in His Chambers
- 5'I'm Staying Everything': Texas Bankruptcy Judge Halts Talc Trials Against J&J
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250