This short piece first appeared in the Edge International Communique for February 2012. In it, I suggested that firms should consider matching their strategic implementation plans with a carefully constructed budget for Strategic Expenditure

Law firms are historically under-capitalised by external standards and in the traditional partnership model, partners are typically anxious to avoid any …

This article first appeared in the Solicitors Journal on 6th February 2012

Russell Jones and Walker’s £53.8m price tag suggests it was valued five times its 2013 EBITDA, so what could your firm be worth? asks Nick Jarrett-Kerr

Valuing professional service firms is not a new innovation. Firms have traded for decades in many areas of professional …

Using the Pareto Principle in decision-making

By Nick Jarrett-Kerr

First published in the Edge International Communique January 2012

Law firms often have huge problems with their decision-making processes.  In the first place, lawyers are infamous for the glacial speed of their decision-making.  Analysis can often result in paralysis.  Caution and a tendency for risk aversion can often mean …

Anticipating Scandal, Randomness and Unlikely Disasters in Law Firms

By Nick Jarrett-Kerr

This article first appeared in Law Business review December 2011

Scandals such as the News International hacking incident are timely reminders that organizations can be brought to their knees by events which are highly improbable, often …

In Case of Trouble, Change the Leaders!

This recession just refuses to go away.  From 2008 onwards, the survival strategy of some firms has been to batten down the hatches and to survive the recessional storms in whatever way they can.   The problem is that this is a short term tactic rather than a long term …

This article first appeared in Edge International Communiqué.

Are law firms starting to acquire a value?

A whole generation of law firm partners – those born in the baby boom just after the Second World War – is now reaching retirement age and forms the first generation for which the issue of goodwill has never been explicitly relevant. …

Mind Over Matter 

This article first appeared in the New Law Journal for 28 October.  It suggests routes towards the expansion of educational horizons for lawyers

After five years of expensive study, newly qualified lawyers often settle back and reassure themselves that their educational travails are over for good.  The problem is …

Tackling Partner Underperformance in Law Firms

Disagreeable as it is, the matter of partner underperformance is a live issue for law firms today. Not handling it correctly can have severe consequences for your firm including damage to its reputation, the morale of your high performers and overall bottom line.

Managing …

Edge International would be delighted if you could join us for our
first lunchtime roundtable on
Tuesday 1 November in London from 12.30 – 2.00pm

Bithika Anand, Edge International’s Principal in India, will be in London and will join our …

Taking Advantage of a Recession: Seven Strategies for Opportunistic Law Firms

Leafing through some material recently, I came across the following article which my colleague Ed Wesemann and I wrote over two years ago.  I think it is worth reproducing again.

Taking Advantage of a Recession: Seven Strategies for Opportunistic Law Firms  By Ed Wesemann and Nick …