Welcome to The One Minute Manager. Our goal is to provide you with quick tips that will enhance the success of your practice. Within 60 seconds you will gain an idea that will increase your profitability or simply ease the burden of a difficult management issue. We hope you will find this a valuable resource.

The One Minute Manager . . . . .

Economist editors John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge wrote a book called The Company that describes the influence on the business world of the joint-stock company. This Victorian innovation transformed the economy and spurred corporations of unprecedented depth and breadth. The legal world looks at envy at the possibilities if they could shake off the archaic partnership structure and developed a more effective business model.

Although there have been some attempts by firms to raise public financing, most firms continue in the partnership structure that is ill suited to today's business needs. The difficulty with partnerships is that lawyers are fiercely independent and are uncomfortable working within a community approach. This manifests itself when compensation decisions become divisive around sharing costs, paying for non- billable activities, or rewarding the rainmakers. In truth, most law firms operate as "Confederations of Sole Practitioners".

I would suggest that there are innovative organizational approaches that law firms should consider that have been successful in other businesses. An example is Re/Max which has become the dominant player in the real estate business by attracting the top talent by offering a different business model. Moving away from the traditional method of fee sharing, Re/Max allowed agents to keep their fees in return for a fixed overhead charge and a contribution to business development. This is a structure that increased risk but was more rewarding to the ambitious agents.

The upstart company drew the top talent like a magnet and established itself as the dominant player in short order. The branding has now become recognized worldwide and is synonymous with hard-driving agents and successful transactions. These agents are not unlike lawyers that want to develop their own success independently but under the umbrella of a quality organization.

I welcome the opportunity to work with any client to develop this idea and be at the forefront of a leading law organization with immense potential.