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IBA Strategic News and Views Digest for September 2018

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Written by Norman Clark
Published: 21 September 2018

The Law Firm Management Committee is now publishing a monthly digest of recent articles and papers about business strategy and related issues for law firms.

Click here to view the September 2018 issue of the Strategic News and Views Digest

metrisiphobia

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Written by Norman Clark & Lisa M. Walker Johnson
Published: 12 September 2018

Why are some lawyers afraid of performance measurements?

In many cases, it is because the management of the firm doesn't understand, and therefore fail to communicate, the benefits and advantages of better performance measurement for each lawyer.

Analytics???

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Written by Norman Clark
Published: 06 September 2018
Julius Exner, Blindebuk (c. 1852) (public domain)

Once you master the new jargon, the relevance and importance of analytics to the practice of law should become clearer...

...and a little bit scary.

Analytics comprises skills, practices, and changes in professional culture that are relevant today and will be critical to law firm survival over the next ten years -- especially for small and midsize firms. 

IBA Law Firm Management Committee publishes a new strategy digest

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Written by Norman Clark
Published: 20 August 2018

The Law Firm Management Committee is now publishing a monthly digest of recent articles and papers about business strategy and related issues for law firms.

Click here to view the August 2018 issue of the Strategic News and Views Digest.

What is your business plan for 2020?

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Written by Norman Clark
Published: 23 June 2018
By Jörg Bittner Unna - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46470796

Yes, 2020. 

But even if your law firm is not prepared to move to two-year business planning, the suggestions in this article will help you to improve successful results next year.

"black box" or black hole?

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Written by Norman Clark
Published: 23 June 2018
public domain image

Many law firms use "black box" systems for partner compensation because they want to avoid internal disputes among partners.

A recently-filed case against Jones Day points out how these systems often can make things worse.

listening to learn

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Written by Lisa M. Walker Johnson
Published: 16 June 2018
iStock image licensed by Walker Clark LLC

What is the most important thing that a law firm or group of lawyers can do to respond better to fast change in their market?

making sense of the chaos

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Written by Norman Clark
Published: 17 May 2018
iStock image licensed by Walker Clark LLC. Commercial reproduction prohibited.

The erratic attempts at policy coming from the Trump government in the United States have made commercial and financial prospects more unpredictable than perhaps in any period since the 1930s. Many investors and business people, as well as traditionally friendly governments, now wonder -- often with good reason -- whether the United States can be trusted to honor its international commitments at any level of enterprise or international engagement.

These forces and risks ultimately affect almost every law firm with any significant international or regional practice. This is a real challenge for the legal profession, because clients traditionally have looked to lawyers and law firms for analysis and problem solving in uncertain times. Yet the business futures of many of those firms are perhaps even less certain than those of their clients.