INSIDEPRACTICE PRESENTS:
Navigating the Ever-Changing
Compensation Equation for
Law Firm Leadership
An off-the-record, peer-driven workshop exploring the changing face of partner
compensation and how to adapt in times of disruption
ONLINE // NOV 30 // 2023
More
OVERVIEW
Aligning what’s good for the partner with what’s good for the partnership.
- How well does your compensation plan further (or hinder) the firm’s strategy?
- How well do your firm’s partners understand the link between their behaviors and the corresponding rewards or penalties?
- How well does your plan not only reward but drive desirable and profitable behaviors consistent with the long-term interests of the firm?
- How well does the plan manage partner expectations and reduce perceptions of inequity?
- And how can firms reward profitability in circumstances when it’s not driven by billable hours?
Partner compensation plans that work well during a booming economy tend to foster unrest in times of disruption or uncertainty. Busy partners lament the underperformance of less-busy partners. Rainmakers lament carrying service partners. Mid-level partners on the rise resent subsidizing the declining productivity of senior partners. Senior partners hold tightly to origination credits…
Firm leaders continue to face uncertainty over which factions of the firm to appease, knowing that choosing poorly can lead to partner defections or calls for governance changes.
All partners expect to be rewarded well based on whatever contribution positions them in the best light. However, not every contribution has equal value. Many leaders are reluctant to even measure certain contributions, a failing that imperils the fiscal health of the law firm.
This highly interactive workshop – facilitated by Tim Corcoran, Principal, Corcoran Consulting Group, LLC – is designed for compensation and management committees addressing some of the most pressing compensation-related challenges facing law firm leaders today.
The discussion will address both the economics and the psychology of compensation, delving into what works in certain cultures and why, and what alternatives might be better for other cultures and why. The discussion of challenges, solutions, and roadmaps will be informed by the experience of other firm leaders in attendance.
Navigating the Ever-Changing Compensation Equation for Law Firm Leadership takes place online on November 30th. Registration is open; confirm your place today.
Chatham House Rule:
The format of this workshop is unique in that participants are encouraged to candidly converse, ask questions, share stories and address challenges in an off-the-record, peer-to-peer environment. This program will not be recorded and neither the identity nor the affiliation of the workshop participants will be revealed. The primary objective is to provide a platform for both guided and free-form discussion among peers to brainstorm ideas and possible solutions to specific issues and challenges – facilitated by Tim Corcoran (Principal, Corcoran Consulting Group, LLC) – a preeminent expert on law firm partner compensation who has advised law firm leaders all over the world.
We invite entire compensation committees and/or management teams responsible for awarding partner compensation, including both lawyers and finance professionals, to attend as a group. Neither teams nor individuals will be asked to reveal confidential information during group discussion or anonymized case studies.
Duration:
4 Hours
Style:
Workshop
Faculty:
Principal
Corcoran Consulting Group, LLC
Dates:
November 30th
11:00 AM CST - 3:00 PM CST
Early bird Registration:
Confirm your place on this course by October 20th and save 20% on your enrollment.
Use the discount code NECC20 when placing your order.
CURRICULUM
March 9th / 11:00 AM CST - 1:00 PM CST
1. Greenwashing Basics
- General overview
- Why should you care? What do your clients need to know?
- Consumers want “green” products / high demand
- What are your obligations? Competence, RPC 1.1
2. What is greenwashing?
- Where did it come from? What is the history?
- A few definitions
- Examples from various contexts (text, images, content left out or highlighted)
CURRICULUM
Participants will determine in what order and to what depth we will cover the following modules:
Module 1 - Compensation Plan Structure, Metrics, Tools and Processes:
- Addressing inherent conflict, inefficiencies, and disincentives built into present day compensation plans – and what some firms are doing to modernize compensation criteria, processes, and tools.
- How is your firm quantifying the value of intangible contributions? Participants will work on real, but anonymized compensation scenarios in a wide-open format that encourages interaction.
- We will work through case studies and exercises to identify gaps between current plans and modern practices in a variety of contexts. How easy is the plan to administer? How effective are the reporting systems?
Module 2 - Managing Expectations:
- Performance, culture and pay equity – positioning compensation as a driver of change.
- As the economy has shifted and some practices face lower demand, how are you redefining your definition of partner "underperformance?"
- How transparent is your comp plan and how well do the partners understand the link between their behaviors and the corresponding rewards or penalties?
- How well does the comp plan manage partner expectations and reduce perceptions of inequity?
- What are the cultural implications of your plan?
- What will likely change, for better or worse, if you change the plan?
- How is your firm rewarding profitability, addressing origination and/or management pay?
Module 3 - Linking Compensation to Strategy:
- How well does your compensation plan further (or hinder) firm strategy?
- How effectively is your plan linked with the roadmap for success within the partnership, or on the path to partnership?
- How well does your plan support (or hinder) succession planning?
- How well does your plan not only reward, but drive desirable and profitable behaviors consistent with the long-term interests of the firm?
Module 4 - The War for Talent:
- If you over-hired associates or laterals, how can you keep everyone busy in light of decreased demand in some practices? How do you conduct layoffs without decimating your bench strength?
- If you recruited associates or laterals at the peak of the salary wars, there's a clear financial impact to be addressed. But how do you manage the cultural rifts that can arise when junior colleagues earn more than their more seasoned colleagues?
- How do you strike the right balance between maintaining firm culture while leaning into some partners' preference for staff and associates to return to the office?
- Smaller firms will never outspend larger firms when it comes to recruiting top talent. How can small and mid-size firms compete for talent despite paying less?
- Note: We will not compare specific lawyer salaries or bonuses. The focus is on self-induced constraints that tend to complicate law firm recruiting efforts
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
2.
Understand various means to adaptation in times of economic uncertainty – more closely mapping partner compensation to performance.
3.
Identify realistic ways to positioning compensation as a driver of change as it relates to culture and performance.
4.
How transparent is your comp plan and how well do the partners understand the link between their behaviors and the corresponding rewards or penalties?
1.
Learn how to address inherent conflicts, inefficiencies and disincentives built into present day comp plans and what some firms are doing to modernize criteria, processes and tools.
5.
Explore the cultural implications of your firm's comp plan. How well does it manage partner expectations and reduce perceptions of inequity?
6.
Gain a deeper understanding of how your firm's current compensation plan aligns with and supports your firm's overall strategy.
7.
Effectively link your firm's compensation plan with a broader roadmap for success within the partnership or on the path to partnership.
8.
Consider how your firm's comp plan impacts (supports or hinders) succession planning.
10.
Discuss and evaluate methods for quantifying the value of intangible contributions.
11.
Identify gaps between current plans and modern practices in a variety of contexts.
12.
How is your firm rewarding profitability, addressing origination and/or management pay?
9.
Learn how compensation can be used to drive desirable and profitable behaviors consistent with the long-term interests of the firm.
FACULTY
Tim Corcoran
Principal
Corcoran Consulting
Timothy B. Corcoran is a legal management consultant with offices in New York, Charlottesville, and Sydney and a global client base. He’s a keynote speaker, author, and legal commentator.
Tim brings his deep experience from over two decades as a senior corporate executive to guide law firm and law department leaders through the profitable disruption of outdated business models. His disruptive, confident, and sometimes irreverent stage presence enables him to bring levity to topics of particular gravitas, while masterfully navigating tough discussions from a refreshing perspective. Audiences embrace Tim’s simplification of complex concepts, his practical and actionable advice, and his deep understanding of both the psychology and economics of change.
As a change agent, Tim’s focus is on helping law firms operationalize their strategy, improve profits with project management and process improvement, embrace profitable alternative fee arrangements, assess and improve partner compensation plans, design new financial metrics and dashboards, build effective operations, train current and future leaders, refine business development skills, and embrace technology. Tim helps law departments embrace performance analytics, better manage outside counsel, and improve business velocity. Tim also advises legal service providers on sales effectiveness and go-to-market strategy.

Tim served as President of the 4,000+ member Legal Marketing Association and is a member of its Hall of Fame, he’s a Trustee and Fellow of the the College of Law Practice Management, an American Lawyer Research Fellow, a Teaching Fellow in the Master in Legal Business program at the Australia College of Law, and a sought-after speaker and writer on topics related to the changing business of law. He also authors the widely-read Corcoran’s Business of Law blog.
REGISTRATION
Confirm your place on this course by October 20th and save 20% on your enrollment.
Use the discount code NECC20 when placing your order.
Additional team rates are available on request; please contact us for more information
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Individual Registration
Access to Navigating the Ever-Changing Compensation Equation for Law Firm Leadership for one individual
$495
($396 through 10/20)
Group Registration
Access to Navigating the Ever-Changing Compensation Equation for Law Firm Leadership for five individuals
$2,295
($1,836 through 10/20)
Team
Registration
Access to Navigating the Ever-Changing Compensation Equation for Law Firm Leadership for ten individuals
$3,995
($3,196 through 10/20)
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