Adjusting the numbers – the future of finance in law firms

I was recently honoured to be asked to write part of a new book by Globe Law and Business on the future of finance in law firms.

Details of the book can be found at:

https://www.globelawandbusiness.com/books/adjusting-the-numbers-the-future-of-finance-in-law-firms

This new title follows on from the principles of my first published book https://bookshop.lawsociety.org.uk/p/financial-stability-toolkit-paperback-cd/ where I covered the basis of running a successful law firm.

In this new book, I look to the future of law firms and extend on those principles. I argue that whilst the historic principles remain, the profession was slowly modernising and then Covid hit like a thunderbolt moving the requirements of managing a law firm on to another level completely – and there is no turning back as we move into the future.

I conclude that there is one key word to take forward to describe future management of the finance of law firms – and that is Flexible.

There will be a need for flexible …

• Fee earning – timing/location/method of services/self-service/automation/processes
• Office environments
• Employment/self-employment status – the rise of self-employed consultants both within law firms and within virtual/platform firms
• Reward
• Pricing
• Ownership models
• Outsourcing – turning fixed costs to variable costs, including fee earning
• Off-shoring/North-shoring
• Management – and the use of professional managers/CEOs

For more details behind this, including coverage of:

• Historic foundations
• The financial impact of Covid on law firms
• Anticipated impacts on law firms as we emerge from Covid
• Lessons learned from the Covid experience
• Law firms of the future

copies of the book can be purchased at https://www.globelawandbusiness.com/books/adjusting-the-numbers-the-future-of-finance-in-law-firms