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Firm Structure
A law firm's internal structure can have a profound effect on the firm's clients and attorneys. A conventional law firm is typically organized as a leveraged structure, as seen in the figure on the right. In a conventional firm, a small number of senior partners are responsible for bringing in work ("rainmaking") and delegating this work to a larger number of junior partners and a much larger number of associates to do the work. The associates, and, to some extent, the junior partners, are profit centers that generate the firm's profits. Associates and junior partners aspire to become senior partners. However, since most associates will not become partners, there may be little incentive to train associates. Moreover, since few associates make partner and receive training, there may be little firm loyalty and high associate turnover. From a client perspective, work may be performed by attorneys with a low level of expertise but at a high cost, because these attorneys are a profit center. The law firm typically is marketing-dominated and growth-oriented, because of the large number of associates that are needed to provide profit for each senior partner. This marketing domination can lead to conflicts of interest. Moreover, the "billing partner" may have little incentive to allow other attorneys to have contact with his or her clients. Accordingly, this firm structure may not be conducive to high quality work for clients or a desirable work environment for attorneys.
In contrast, our law firm structure, as seen in the figure on the right, is opposite a conventional law firm. In our law firm, all attorneys, including the most highly experienced attorneys, perform substantive work for clients. Moreover, associates are hired with the expectation that they will become a partner, so training is paramount and turnover is minimal. Work can be performed for clients at a high level of expertise, but at a low level of cost, because the overhead of the "unproductive partner" is not present. Moreover, our structure allows all clients to be firm clients, so that extensive client contact by many attorneys is encouraged. The most qualified, cost effective attorney will do the work for a particular project. Conflicts are easier to avoid because the firm is not marketing and growth dominated. Accordingly, our law firm structure provides benefits to our clients as well as our attorneys.