Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC., Author at Lawyer-Coach

18 05, 2012

Partner Compensation Plans – The Modified Lock Step (Part 5 of 7)

2019-06-25T16:27:46+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|2 Comments

This is the 5th article in a series of 7 discussing structures that law firms tend to adopt for partner compensation. In Part 1 we discussed the Monarch structure, in Part 2 the Parity structure, in Part 3 the Executive Committee Monarchy, and in Part 4 the regular Lock Step.

Modified Lock Step

Description
Many firms have modified the lock step model to allow a committee to subjectively reward or punish behavior. The modification helps the firm to encourage essential behaviors such as business development, high productivity, recruiting, training and mentoring associates, management, and client relationship maintenance. It also provides the flexibility to bring underperforming partners into line, without having to completely expel a partner.

Some of the modifications may include the ability to promote a partner to a higher level earlier than the other classmate partners, or demote a partner to a lower level. There may also be a “slush fund” for allocating bonuses to reward desired behavior. Appendix A to this article (which will appear in Part 7 of the seven-part series) contains an example of provisions that might be included in a modified lock step compensation plan. The author extends her gratitude to Bill McDonald, a partner at Thompson & Knight LLP, whose practice includes advice on law firm formation, for the provisions included in Appendix A.

In Appendix A, the agreement provides for seven lock step levels, but permits the management committee to assign each partner to the appropriate […]

17 05, 2012

Partner Compensation Plans – Lock Step (Part 4 of 7)

2019-03-11T22:32:20+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|3 Comments

This is the 4th article in a series of 7 discussing structures that law firms tend to adopt for partner compensation. In Part 1 we discussed the Monarch structure, in Part 2 the Parity structure, and in Part 3 the Executive Committee Monarchy.

Lock Step

Description

This model is used mainly in large, stable, well-established firms that have a lot of institutional clients. It rewards seniority. Usually, all of the lawyers who become partners in the same year are a class, and make the same compensation. The class as a whole receives an increase in points, which are the basis of allocating profit distributions, when they are elevated to the next level. Typically, the spread between the salary of the highest paid partners and the lowest paid partners is not that large – 3 or 4 to 1 is not uncommon.

When It Works Well […]

16 05, 2012

Partner Compensation Structures – Executive Committee Monarchy (Part 3 of 7)

2019-03-19T21:28:11+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|3 Comments

This is the 3rd article in a series of 7 discussing the different kinds of partnership compensation structures that law firms tend to adopt. In Part 1 we discussed the Monarch structure, and in Part 2 the Parity structure.

Executive Committee Monarchy

Description
Both of the prior structures are usually only found in small firms of ten partners or fewer. In a larger firm, the Monarch structure may be expanded to a ruling executive committee. In this situation a rather stable and predictable executive committee functions like a single monarch. Usually they are the founding partners or otherwise the most experienced lawyers in the firm.

When It Works Well
This structure works when the […]

15 05, 2012

Partner Compensation Structures – Parity (Part 2 of 7)

2019-03-19T21:26:59+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|4 Comments

This is the 2nd article in a series of 7 discussing the different kinds of partnership compensation structures that law firms tend to adopt. In Part 1 we discussed the Monarch structure which involves one partner who rules over the others on compensation issues.

Parity

Description
All of the partners split the profits of the firm evenly. This format usually comes out of a situation where two or three lawyers of similar vintage are friends, and decide to form a partnership.

When It Works Well
When the lawyers have […]

14 05, 2012

Partner Compensation Structures, A Seven Part Series – The Monarch (1 of 7)

2019-03-19T21:29:20+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|1 Comment

Partner compensation, Law firm compensation, Compensation structures, partner compensation structure, shareholder compensation, The Monarch Structure

10 05, 2012

Reducing Culture Clashes in a Small Firm Merger

2019-03-19T21:32:16+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Reducing Culture Clashes in a Small Firm Merger

“We’re thinking about combining our firm of three lawyers with another small law firm. Do you have any guidance for us on what to consider in making our decision?” Clients ask me questions like this more frequently these days.

In some cases, a booming law practice has rainmakers looking for experienced help. Some senior lawyers in solo and small firms consider mergers as they begin thinking about succession planning. Sometimes young lawyers with developing practices seek to cut per capita overhead by spreading fixed costs across more fee earners. For some small firms, the merger mania in BigLaw has stimulated them to consider their options.

When contemplating a merger, many risks and rewards must be considered and due diligence investigations should be conducted. Culture clashes undermine mergers more frequently than any other factor, however.

When there are only 5 lawyers in the whole office, common values become even more critical. There is nowhere to hide. Variances in strongly held beliefs and values tend to grow from cracks to chasms. They can threaten the productivity, health and work satisfaction of everyone in the office, as well as the success of the firm as a whole.

Fortunately, with fewer people involved in a small firm, it can be a little easier to identify and discuss issues that may develop into rifts in a law firm partnership. Here are a few subjects to discuss.

1. What is your attitude toward money and the firm’s fiscal policy? Do you advocate leveraging debt to help the firm advance quickly and to weather dry spells? Or do you prefer a more conservative pay-as-you-go approach, relying on partners for any bridge loans required during slower periods? […]

3 05, 2012

Warning: Avon May Call You, But Microsoft Won’t

2019-03-19T21:34:47+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|1 Comment

The internet crawls with scam artists circulating myths, bogus horror stories, urban legends and snake oil sales pitches. I often use the Snopes website to verify or debunk any weird or cautionary emails I receive. According to a New York Times article about the Snopes founders, their fact-checking website gets around 8 million unique visitors per month. This time I didn’t need Snopes to verify the warning I received in a recent email. It came from our trustworthy IT consultant, Lee McAdory. Here’s what Lee wrote: […]

27 04, 2012

The Solution Is Templates with Userforms: What Was The Question?

2019-02-21T23:14:18+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on The Solution Is Templates with Userforms: What Was The Question?

By Tamara Portnoy
What an attorney really needs is a simple way to produce regular forms and frequently used documents which, of course, means; templates, templates, templates. Yes, there can be a learning curve to create truly useful templates but you only have to create them once. Then you just use them over and over. If something changes you only have to change it in one place. Using automatic dates, line and page numbering, internal referencing and table of contents make templates even more useful and accurate. Too often attorneys cannibalize documents and end up with something that says […]

12 04, 2012

Is Your Law Practice Evolving or Devolving?

2019-04-01T21:02:53+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|2 Comments

Most lawyers evolve as they develop experience. They learn from mistakes and from observing other lawyers. Although every lawyer is different, most go through some of the same predictable stages.

Conscious Incompetence
You’ve just graduated from law school and passed the bar. Whether it’s your first client or your first assignment from a partner, your excitement is mixed with anxiety. You’ve never done this before. You don’t really know what you are doing. You’re scared that someone will find out.

Unconscious Incompetence
You have some experience under your belt. You feel like you know what you’re doing. In fact, in some circumstances you actually do know what you’re doing, but you don’t know what you don’t know.

As a young lawyer negotiating agreements, I carefully examined every aspect of the proposed contract. I was trained in a prestigious firm that expected perfection from its lawyers. I sought to achieve a pristine document that gave my client maximal protection from every conceivable mishap. […]

13 03, 2012

Template with Document Properties

2019-03-19T21:57:03+00:00By Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.|Comments Off on Template with Document Properties

By Tamara Portnoy

Attorneys avoid templates because they think templates are too hard to make and too hard to use. Templates that incorporate bookmarks are simple but have limited usefulness to a law office, especially with repeating content. When you have to type someone’s name over and over in a document bookmarks seem pointless. An alternative to bookmarks is document properties. Word documents come with a set of properties built-in but you can introduce more properties and use them to create template documents.

To view document properties choose: […]

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About Debra L. Bruce, JD, PCC.

Make an Appointment

Setting goals for your life and career?

Setting goals for
your life and career?