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For Immediate Release: February 1, 2008

Law firm leaders meet in Montreal for management conference
By Sara Collin, Montreal

"Not treating the law practice as a business. That would be the single [biggest] mistake." With the closing of mid-size law firms Goodman & Carr LLP in Toronto and Desjardins Ducharme Stein Monast in Quebec within the last year, law firms would be wise to listen to such consulting advice, recently given by Edward Poll, president of LawBiz® Management Co. Edward Poll has advised some of the biggest law firms in North America for over 17 years. He works mainly in the United States, but also assists law firms in Canada and Mexico. He practiced law for over 25 years, successfully ran his family business and acted as CEO of a law firm. He has written several books and has been invited to speaking engagements throughout North America.

It is this extensive law firm management experience that allows him to so accurately and pointedly expose the number one mistake law firms make in their attempt to be successful enterprises. In his opening remarks at the Canadian Bar Association's third annual conference entitled "Law Firm Leadership: Tools for the successful Canadian law firm," Poll addressed over 100 managing lawyers and firm managers from around the country on Oct. 15. "In terms of the legal profession, there has been a debate about whether law is a profession or whether law is a business," Poll stated. He believes law is both a profession and a business, but that lawyers often put too much emphasis on the practice of law and not enough on business. In one of the breakout sessions of the conference, Poll sat down with several managing lawyers to address their concerns. "They're all concerned about compensation," said Poll. "How to reduce the angst of the process, how to reduce the process and the time consumed with the process. They are concerned with how much they are charging their clients, and being accepted by their clients. They're concerned about collecting their fees. Because they don't collect as much as they bill." Poll's basic message is grounded in the equation of "Revenue - Expenses = Profit"

Although reducing expenses is one way to increase profit, Poll believes increasing revenue has a greater impact on law firm success. "If you increase your revenue by one per cent, you increase your profit by 10 per cent," he explained. "And we have more control over our revenue than we do over our expenditures." Billing is a major issue in the success of law firms, yet most firms don't manage clients properly in this area.

Value billing

Poll believes that lawyers are concerned about charging too much, yet he sees many law firms charging too little. Why? First, he says lawyers often don't explain the process adequately to clients, and fear telling them after-the-fact that the work took longer than expected. More importantly, he says that lawyers often lack self-esteem and confidence in the real value of their work. He believes that value billing, instead of hourly billing, is the wave of the future. Poll offered attendees the example of one firm in the U.S. that bills clients at an hourly rate, but gives them other options. Client can pay less if they are not satisfied with the work. More importantly, clients have the option of paying more, by way of a "bonus", if they are extremely satisfied with the work. According to Poll, this is an attractive billing alternative because "people will pay more for those services they perceive to be more oriented to solving the problems that you bring to the table."

Generation Y

Another salient issue highlighted at the conference is the problem managing lawyers are facing with the upcoming generation of lawyers. During the "Talent Strategies: For Law Firm Leaders" breakout session, run by Karen MacKay, founder and CEO of Phoenix Legal Inc. and Stephen Nash, president of The Counsel Network, the conversation quickly turned to the Generation Y phenomenon. One attendee stated that his firm has seen more turn-over in the past 10 years than in the previous 40 years. Other lawyers expressed frustration with younger lawyers who consistently state that they are seeking "balance" above all. Managing lawyers are struggling with how, and if, they should accommodate this new generation's requests for more flexible work schedules. Poll has encountered the same problem. "I run a managing lawyers roundtable [with] managing lawyers of some of the largest law firms in the world, and they are tearing their hair out." He believes the new generation will bring major changes in the way law firms function. "We are going to have now possibly five generations in a law firm, something that has never happened before," he said. "And that's going to be a major challenge for the law firms. How they resolve it is going to be a challenge."

Sharing and solving problems

Billing and Generation Y issues are just some of the topics covered at this year's CBA conference that took place in Montreal from Oct. 14 to 16. Each year the conference is centered on specific law firm management themes. This year the three main themes were dealing with conflicts of interest, recruitment and retention, and dealing with the press. Along with Poll, some highlights included speakers Chantal Hébert, national affairs columnist, The Toronto Star and panelist on CBC's The National, and Mark Chandler, senior vice-president and general counsel for Cisco. Other panels included "In the Line of Fire — Dealing with the Media when your Client (or your Firm!) is the Story", and "Conflicted About Conflicts and Other Important Risk Management Issues? Prescriptions, Practices and Problem- Solving." Stuart Cobbett, managing partner and CEO of Stikeman Elliott in Montreal, acted as co-chair for the conference this year. Cobbett says the conference is specifically aimed at managing lawyers and others involved in law firm management. It is an opportunity for them to meet with other lawyers and managers from across Canada and share ideas.