Managing the expectations of partners raises unsettling issues when the discussion is between a partner-owner and a nonowner staff professional. How does management staff proceed in this uneasy environment to effectively manage, or more realistically, negotiate expected results with partners? More to the point, as the Great Recession recedes, how can staff contribute to the future of the firm, particularly in the area of business development, when the distribution of power is uneven?
In the process of assembling materials for this article, I asked these questions of some of my colleagues in accounting firms, since accounting firms are often central to the review and advisement of management operations in law firms, and, truth be stated, they sipped the marketing tonic a bit earlier than law firms. Finally, the growth of many CPA firms stems from acquisitions and mergers, and, as a result, those that are successful have encountered the need to create a common culture and expectations to flourish, two learning points that are pivotal to law firms.
