Market Areas > Practice Management > Business of law

The Business of Law: Developing Associates Skills for Maximum Profitability

Course Description:

Practicing law isn’t just about winning cases; it’s also about running a business.  And although most managing partners are well versed in the financial aspects of running a profitable firm, most associates enter the firm with little or no business management or transactional experience.

Frankly, law firms never really had to worry about business management skills before.  Yet, in today’s shaky economy, as your client list shrinks along with your profits, you need well-trained associates that understand what makes and keeps your firm profitable.   

Discover how educating new lawyers on the “business of law” will help your firm succeed and beat out the competition.  In this must-attend CCM teleconference, you will learn:

• How teaching associates executive/business management skills affects the firms bottom line, firm culture and future leadership
• Why it’s important to educate every lawyer/leader on the firm’s financial model and the language of finance
• Which crucial skills new lawyers should be taught about the business of law

By the end of this invaluable session, you’ll also know:

• How to build executive and business skills education into associate training and career development programs
• Best techniques for training on the elements of corporate transactional practice
• How teaching associates executive/business management skills affects the firms bottom line and culture
• How and which colleges are stepping up to offer specialized business training for new lawyers

Featured Faculity:

Arthur G. Greene, Principal, Boyer Greene, LLC

Arthur G. Greene is a Principal of Boyer Greene, LLC, a law firm consulting organization with locations in Michigan, New Hampshire and Nevada (www.boyergreene.com). Following a successful career as a practicing lawyer, during which he served as managing partner of firm that grew to 70 lawyers, Arthur has turned his professional focus to management consulting with law firms. In recent years, his consulting practice has included profitability studies, revenue enhancement, firm audits, strategic planning, governance, succession planning, compensation plans, alternative billing methods, and other aspects of maintaining a healthy firm.

He has lectured, conducted workshops and authored articles and books on a variety of law firm issues. His most recent book is The Lawyers Guide to Increasing Revenue: Unlocking the Profit Potential of Your Firm was published by the ABA in 2005. His next book, The Lawyer's Guide to Governance will be released by the ABA in early 2009.

STEVE ARMSTRONG, Professional Development and Talent Management Programs www.armstrongtalent.com

Steve Armstrong led professional development and talent management programs at major law firms for more than 20 years. During that time, he guided firms to think strategically about managing their talent and designed and implemented a wide range of programs and policies. These included training curricula, evaluation and compensation systems, leadership development programs, diversity initiatives, associate surveys, and “upward” evaluations. In recent years, he has focused on designing and teaching managerial- and leadership-skills programs for partners and associates. He has published and spoken widely on the topic of talent management, and has served as chair of the Professional Development Consortium, the professional organization for in-house legal educators, and as co-chair of the ABA Committee on Business Law Education.

Before establishing Armstrong Talent Development in 2009, Steve was Director of Career Development for WilmerHale. Previously, he had been the Director of Professional Development for Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and for Shearman & Sterling.

Steve also teaches legal writing for federal and state judges and for ALI-ABA, the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, and other organizations in the U.S. and Canada. He is the co-author of Thinking Like a Writer: A Lawyer’s Guide to Effective Writing and Editing (3rd edition, 2008, Practicing Law Institute).

MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE:

Pricing:

Unable to Attend? Order the CD!

Your CD recording includes the complete audio conference presentation, audience Q&A and presentation materials.

CLE:

CCM provides audio conference attendees with CLE credit processing services. To expedite CCM processing your CLE request, please complete and submit the evaluation form available from CCM at the conclusion of the audio conference. It will be necessary to enter the following information: name of each attorney requesting CLEs with full contact information, including e-mail address, bar number, and the state in which the attorney wants credits. Each attorney requesting credits must submit an evaluation.

Please be advised CCM audio conferences are subject to approval from each CLE issuing organization and approval is not guaranteed (state bar associations in Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania do not grant CLE credits for audio conferences). The approval process takes approximately 6 - 8 weeks for most organizations but can take as long as 3 - 4 months. You will be notified via e-mail with the final status of your CLE application.

Any person applying for CLE credits must attend the audio conference from start to finish (attendance will be taken for compliance reasons). Requests for CLE credits must be received no later than two weeks following the conclusion of the audio conference or live conference. CLE credits are not available for CD recordings.

If you have any questions regarding CLE credits, contact Jill Adler at 631.368.2082 x 21 or jill.adler@meeting-matters.com.

Each CCM event presents a variety of information and is presented for each organization to develop its own approach and methodology.