Page 39 - Strategic Planning for Law Firms

Strategic Planning for Law Firms
Tensions Between Insurance Defense and Commercial Practices
It may be unspoken (though sometimes
it is not) that there is a tension between insurance and commercial practices. Some commercial litigators look down upon insurance defense practices, dismissing them as less intellectually challenging, rote and fungible. Some insurance defense lawyers consider commercial litigators paper pushers, with little or no trial experience and incapable of persuading
a jury. Some commercial litigators feel
insurance defense lawyers bill too much, bill for everything, and are more interested in billing a file than resolving it. Some insurance defense lawyers feel commercial litigators don’t bill enough or work hard enough. Keep these stereotypes and predispositions in mind when strategic planning for these mixed firms.
Different Hourly Rates
A firm comprised of lawyers with different hourly rates, especially if there are significant differences, can affect each attorney’s role in the firm, their say in the firm, their compensation and the costs and expenses the firm will permit them to incur. The firm with attorneys with varying hourly rates has to have a plan on how to address that when it comes to compensation, leadership, management, personnel, etc.
Different Billable Hours
A related issue is the difference between billable hours among your lawyers. Some may bill 1800 hours or less, but due to higher billable rates, may generate more revenue than an attorney billing 2200 hours or more. It’s one thing when everyone in the firm is expected to bill the same number of hours. It’s quite a different thing when each practice group has its own requirement, and those requirements are vastly different.
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SECTION 06 FIRM MODELS