Law Practice Management Asked and Answered Blog

Category: Sixteen

Mar 14, 2017

Sixteen Characteristics of a Successful Contingency Fee Law Firm – A Guide for New Managing Partners

Question:

I am a newly appointed managing partner for an eighteen attorney law firm in Dayton, Ohio. We are a employment law litigation firm that represents plaintiffs on a contingency fee basis. We have been in business for five years and we are facing severe cash flow and profitability challenges primarily due to lackluster contingency fee outcomes. Do you have any guidelines or suggestions as to what we should be aiming for?

Response:

In general I find that successful contingency fee law firms are:

1. Sustainable over the long term
2. Are disciplined, have order and common vision, and manage the firm like a business.
3. Have long-term talented people that are passionate and team players.
4. Organized and have structure.
5. Have the right people on the bus and in the right seats.
6. Meet on a structured basis.
7. Have a long-range plan.
8. Have a budget.
9. Have fee goals for each producer.
10. Have a marketing plan.
11. Are consistently profitable.
12. Have solid cash flow.
13. Use metrics to manage the firm.
14. Are financially stable.
15. Have a succession plan.
16. Are diversified – both practice areas and case portfolio.

I would use this as sort of an initial performance checklist. You may need to examine your case portfolio and your contingency fee case risk profile and look for ways to diversify your case mix.

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