OVERVIEW

Aligning what’s good for the partner with what’s good for the partnership.

Navigating the Partner Compensation Equation

• 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.

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. 

For more details on content modules and to register, visit the registration page here.