Experts: Share-the-Spoils Model Better Than 'Eat What You Kill'
Although an eat-what-you-kill approach to law practice has gained popularity in recent years, a share-the-spoils model is the better pathway to follow for future law firm success, experts say.
Otherwise, according to Doug Moore of accountant Grant Thornton, the law firm “promotes stars and rainmakers, those who bring in the bulk of business, who are tight with clients at the expense of the health of the overall business,” summarizes the Financial Post. “For example, he asks, what happens if the key rainmaker is wooed away and leaves the business?”
The Canadian business publication points to the success of Toronto-based Woolgar VanWiechen Ketcheson Ducoffe, which has grown from 2 to 12 attorneys (including seven partners) over the past 15 years, as an example of how well this approach can work—when combined with other key marketing strategies.
Partner Mark Woolgar says his corporate firm follows the “dinosaur” method of even-Steven sharing of profits among partners, but established as well an adjunct human resources consulting business that effectively brought nonlawyer professionals onto the law firm’s team. Woolgar VanWiechen also has a flat-fee billing system, rather than charging hourly rates, he notes.
