Gerencia

We are at a pivotal moment in the evolution of the
modern law firm as law firm managers struggle to develop new ways of
organizing lawyers. There are terrible costs for those who get it wrong butfor those who get it right, the rewards are enormous.



A vast amount of management research has been published
in recent decades but very little is directly relevant to law firms orprofessional
service firms more generally


Those lawyers who do take time
away from legal practice to study for an MBA will learn about how to
run an airline, a fast food business, a pharmaceuticalcompany, or a bank,
but will probably never hear mention of a law firm


to examine the implicit models of management
they have developed through trial and error, to wonder about what they
are missingand what else they need to learn.

This book will also help professional business managers who have
joined law firms from other sectors (i.e. functional specialists in areas such
as humanresources, marketing, and finance). It can take many months
and even years to start to make sense of a law firm—there really is nothing
else quite like it. This book should shed some light on the thingsthat
puzzle you.

It also helps you to learn
from the experience of professionals working in other sectors and lawyers
working in other markets. You are not alone. No matter how unusual orspecific your situation may be, other professionals in other sectors have
gone through similar experiences before and other law firms in other
countries have struggled with the same kinds of challenges youface.

How can the largest national or
global law firms retain the valuable characteristics of a partnership and
avoid becoming corporations in all but name?

Fifty per cent of all new practicedevelopment initiatives are unsuccessful.

Close relationships with clients translate into lower billing rates
but potentially higher profit margins. Overall, it is strength of reputation
which...