Law Practice Management Asked and Answered Blog

Category: Skill sets for law firm administrators/business managers

Jan 14, 2014

Law Firm Administrator/Business Manager – Essential Skill Sets

Question:

Our firm is an eight attorney firm located in Minneapolis. We have 5 partners and three associates. I serve as the managing partner and frankly I do not have the time or the skills to do an effective job. My performance as managing partner is marginal at best. We have recently been discussing hiring a professional legal administrator to manage the firm. What are the essential skill sets that we should be looking for?

Response:

Larger firms that have several administrators/managers can have the luxury of having specialists – for example a HR manager, a IT manager, a Marketing Manger,  a Finance/Accounting Manager, Executive Director, etc. In a firm your size you need a hands-on generalists that can perform all of these roles. The top three skill sets that you should look for are:

  1. Accounting/Bookkeeping/Financial Analysis Skills
  2. Human Resources – especially leadership and strong interpersonal skills
  3. Marketing

I would look for someone with 5 years or more experience in managing a law, CPA, or other professional services firm and a B.S or B.A. degree in business, management, or accounting.

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John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

 

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