In The News

What is it our parents always told us? If your friend jumped off a bridge, does that mean you should do the same? In this case, it is more like “Match Game 2012” than it is about “follow the leader.” So the question becomes, how necessary is it for a law firm to match another’s year-end bonus? And in my business, what are the marketing implications for a law firm that does or does not choose to follow suit?

As reported by Peter Lattman in The New York Times this week, “Cravath sets the tone for law firm bonuses.” Law firms don’t have NFL salary caps or MLB luxury taxes to help keep things competitive. In many ways, Cravath is like the New York Yankees of law firms–old, venerable and wealthy. They generate a lot of revenue that others can’t, and can spend accordingly. But most other teams simply don’t generate the same revenue and can’t pay out the same amounts. Spending more does not mean you always win, but you are usually in the game.

If the process holds true that Cravath sets the scale, then you could argue they could do it to squeeze others as much as it might be to reward the associates that spend the year billing the night away. If you think about it, if they force less profitable firms to profit less, are they not creating an even stronger market advantage for themselves?

It is not Henny Youngman, but Stoll Berne managing partner Scott Shorr.

With the tagline — Take your conflicts. Not your clients. — the Portland, Oregon law firm of Stoll Berne got some nice play in the Portland Business Journal for its advertising campaign focused on getting lawyers to send them conflict work. When Journal reporter Andy Giegerich called me to get my take on the uniqueness of the campaign, it highlighted once again some greater lengths law firms are going to these days to find additional revenue streams.

Advertising in legal publications for conflict work is certainly not new. I’ve worked with law firms on such ads in the past–albeit with minimal success. As an attorney with a small niche practice, I end up with referral situations practically every week. It would never occur to me to send the work to anyone that I did not personally know. But, again, not every lawyer has a go-to person for every practice and jurisdiction. But I also know that the nature of conflicts in my business development business takes on much the same take as a legal matter. Because I won’t work with competing firms in a market (sometimes geographic, sometimes practice-driven), I often need to send work elsewhere. I’m looking at the same issues–will this person or company steal my client, and/or am I putting them in a better position to compete against me. And, oh yeah, I almost forgot–they need to be good lawyers who will represent the client well. It comes down to relationships, one hand washing the other, and trust. And the old adage, “burn me once,” certainly fits in the world of conflict work.

Articles Posted in In The News

Of Cravath, Dewey…and the risks of playing “Follow the Leader”

Law Firm Branding – Take my conflicts, please!