FM10: Modernizing Partner Compensation: Incentivizing the New Normal

In some law firms embracing project management, process improvement, and strategic pricing, leaders have observed that the partner compensation system hasn't kept pace and may not fully reward the new behaviors -- even when those behaviors are very profitable for the firm. For some leaders, this is a major understatement! In other law firms, lawyers resist change because of vague fears of disrupting quality or firm culture, but what they really fear is the loss of income. And some law firms have solved it: embracing the new normal of efficiency requires adjustments to partner compensation, adjustments that better link quality, financial performance, and client satisfaction. Turns out, the new normal pays quite well. This session will explore the typical resistance to change and delve into how compensation plans have been successfully adjusted and rolled out. 

Objectives: 

• Identify the root causes of partner resistance, even in the face of overwhelming market pressure to adapt. 
• Learn how to employ "safe" methods to capture partner feedback on the current compensation plan and using this feedback to gain traction. 
• Understand the critical links between firm and practice strategy and partner compensation, so what's right for the partner is what's right for the partnership. 
• Become aware of the typical roadblocks, from poor data to outdated systems to a culture of privacy -- and how everyone from rainmakers to service partners to rising partners has both a valid beef and a need to get over it. 
• Understand the pros and cons of the usual approaches to compensation redesign and rollout, from going too fast to going too slow 

Audience: Advanced 

Other Information: 

75 Minutes 

CLM App Management Category -FS: Financial Management 

CPE Field of Study: Finance