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The One Minute Manager . . . . .
In the past few months I have had a surprising
number of phone calls from clients questioning how
to deal with their super-achieving associates. You
would hardly think that this would be a difficult
management problem. After all, highly productive
lawyers with solid client relationships produce the
fertile groundwork for future partners.
The issue is that these over achievers have become
more demanding of compensation and other
privileges than many of the partners. Managing
Partners are faced with making concessions that
crowd the income level of entry level partners and
those partners that have become moribund. This
creates a tense environment where the partners feel
they have lost control over the too-pushy associates.
This problem is the product of the ever
increasing "Talent Wars". The compensation paid to
attract and retain associates has risen to
unprecedented levels. In the meantime, partner
incomes have shown relatively modest gains. The
narrowing gap makes it difficult to move a "Star" from
the hyper market-valued compensation to partner
income participation. Without a quantum leap in
income, some associates are less inclined to accept
partnership and will seek a lateral move.
Managing Partners are now becoming wary of any
associate that becomes too important. Loading up a
single associate with high billable hours and key
client contacts is providing the associate with too
much leverage. They consider that it is better to add to
the associate ranks to provide a more balanced
workload and diminish control that can be exerted by
an associate that becomes too invaluable.
Somehow putting a limiter on a high potential
associate seems counter intuitive. The real problem
may be that the firm's profitability is too marginal to
retain the best associates; or, the partners are not
prepared to pay a superior income to invest in the
long-term future of the firm. This issue demonstrates
the need to strive towards achieving top law firm
profitability to allow the investment in your "Stars".
Robert Hardie, Managing Director
Management Counsel Group
phone:
(416) 402-0759