Table of Contents

Whether you supervise hundreds of associates and paralegals or only one, Maximizing Law Firm Profitability will help you become a more effective, more productive manager and lawyer. The book shows how to manage your own practice and how to develop the potential of the people who report to you.

It covers subjects such as enhancing attorney skills and increasing profits through development of practical in-house training programs; using strategies for time management; outsourcing effectively; recognizing the advantages of sharply focused in-house training programs in smaller firms; choosing CLE programs wisely; recruiting and keeping "top-notch" lawyers; benchmarking; grasping the basics of legal writing; teaching the essentials of negotiating, client relations and "people skills"; keeping morale high in all economic climates; and instilling law firm loyalty. It features a cutting-edge discussion of lawyer training in the 21st Century and includes material on intellectual asset management and litigation control; as well as guidance on developing a multidisciplinary law firm that can provide start-up services for new businesses.

About the authors:
Susan G. Manch is a principal in the legal management consulting firm of Shannon & Manch, LLP. Her firm has provided consultation on effective attorney development practices for the past twenty years. Her expertise extends to issues regarding recruitment and lateral acquisitions, training and professional development, mentoring and career path guidance, performance appraisal, and career transition counseling. She has worked with law firms in all parts of the U.S. and abroad on a wide range of issues.  She is the author of Partner and Practice Group Acquisition and co-author of Recruiting Lawyers: How to Hire the Best Talent as well as numerous articles published in professional publications of interest to the legal profession. She is a frequent speaker for the American Bar Association, the National Association for Law Placement, and many local bar organizations.
 
Marcia Pennington Shannon is a principal in the consulting firm of Shannon & Manch, LLP. Ms. Shannon has been a professional career counselor and coach to the legal profession for over 20 years. As the former Assistant Director of Career Services at Georgetown University Law Center and as a private coach, consultant, and career counselor, she has developed an expertise in working with individuals on career development and career management issues. Currently, she spends the majority of her time counseling attorneys through the career transition process and coaching individuals on the development of effective supervisory and management skills, as well as career advancement strategies. In addition, Ms. Shannon writes the award-winning "Managing" column for the ABA's Law Practice magazine.  She is the co-author of Recruiting Lawyers: How to Hire the Best Talent.

Table of Contents

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Table of Contents

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1. What's Really Wrong With Lawyer Training?
2. Legal Education
3. Are Law Schools Losing Their Sense of Direction?
4. Legal Education Beyond the J.D.
5. Mandatory CLE: An Incompetent Solution to the Competency Problem
6. Law Firm Recruitment-The Interviewing Process
7. Lawyer Recruitment and Training-Two Sides of the Same Coin
8. Keeping the Good Lawyers You've Recruited
8A. Costs Soar Along With Associate Attrition Rates
8B. Associate Retention Programs for Women
9. Obtaining the Maximum Benefit From a Summer Associates Program
10. Training Your Firm's Lawyers: Nuts & Bolts
11. How to Get Your Training Program Started
12. How Much Should Lawyer Training Cost?
13. Good Training Programs Increase Profits
14. Shape Realistic Expectations of Your Lawyer Development
15. Establishing a Lawyer Development Program
16. The Five Stages of a Lawyer's Career Development
17. Involve as Many People as Possible When Designing Your Training Program
18. Training Through the Use of Videotapes
19. Deciding Whether to Hire Staff for an In-House Program
20. Law Firms Are Hemorrhaging Associates
21. The Summer Clerks May Be Getting Better Training Than the Associates
22. Library Staff Can Play a Useful Lawyer Training Role
22A. Expert Systems Are Coming and They Will Help Train Your Lawyers
23. Don't Cut Back on Training and Recruiting to Save Money
24. In-House Training Within Smaller Firms
25. Teaching Clinical Skills
26. What Can Be Done About Bad Legal Writing?
27. Train Your Lawyers to Be Better Negotiators
28. Training Lawyers to Market the Firm's Legal Services
29. Decision Analysis-Its Use in an Actual Case
30. Young Lawyers Need Supervision and Feedback
31. Doing Something About Supervisory Skills
32. How to Be a Better Mentor and Supervisor of Lawyers
33. Guide the Way Down Your Partnership Track
34. Assigning Work Is the Most Creative Aspect of Supervising Associates
35. Offering Young Lawyers a Mentor
36. Providing Positive Feedback
37. Communicate With Your Associates If You Want to Keep Them
38. Express Your Anger-And Give Beneficial Feedback
39. A Chapter for the Associates
40. Organize Your Firm to Serve Clients and Train Lawyers
40A. Outsourcing Legal Services
41. Train Lawyers From the Bottom Up in Marketing and Management Skills
41A. Leadership Skills Needed by Managing Partners
41B. Ten Models of Law Firm Governance
42. The Management Functions of a Department Chair
42A. Effective Practice Management
43. Organizing a Departmental Workshop
44. Frequent Informal Reports Aid Managers, Keep Lawyers Happy
45. Australia's Law Practice Moves Toward the Management Model
46. How to Develop a Performance Evaluation System
47. Associates Should Evaluate Senior Lawyers' Training and Supervisory Skills
48. Addressing Problems Unique to Women Lawyers
48A. Alternate Career Paths
49. Addressing the Human Factors in a Merger
49A. The Changing Face of the Legal Profession
50. How to Boost Partners' Morale
51. Coping With Stress
51A. Time Management
52. Instilling Law Firm Loyalty
53. Delivering Quality Legal Services
54. Sexual Harassment: Preventive Medicine
55. Aligning Legal Services With Client Expectations