LI01 Keynote Address: Law Firm Economic Trends and Updates

During the past several years the economic conditions of the world forced many law firms to scrutinize their operations and ultimately move in the direction of contraction. Today, how you run your law firm is more crucial than ever. Learn what trends in the profession have been prevalent over the past few years, review the impact of recent financial events and examine the resulting effects on law firms. You will hear how to enhance profitability by reviewing and comparing various statistics that are common among law firm management. You will also focus on those benchmarking statistics that all law firms should be controlling to increase revenue, control debt and expenses, and maximize your firm's profitability as the legal industry continues its recovery from the economic downturn.

Goals:

• Identify the impact of the current economy on law firms

• Discuss how law firms today can control expenses and increase revenue

• Examine the long-term changes that the legal profession is undergoing

Barry Rosenthal, CPA, is a Partner with McGladrey & Pullen, LLP in Chicago where he serves as head of the Service and Nonprofit Group and National Director of the Law Firm Services Group. A sought-after speaker on a broad range of topics, he has presented at American Lawyer Media seminars and other national law firm management conferences. He is the editor of McGladrey's Lawyers' Business Watch and regularly contributes articles for this publication and others. Throughout his career, Rosenthal has been involved with all aspects of accounting, taxation and management advisory services related to closely held companies, with an emphasis on law firms.

Audience

Attendees should be familiar with economics and the legal industry.

CPE: Management Advisory

HRCI Credit: Yes
HRCI Credit Hours: 1.25