Profit from knowledge (Pt 2)

In a world where clients are demanding “more for less”, law firms must learn to: analyse how much it costs to produce each piece of work; produce and deliver the work in the most cost effective way; and know what their client values in this type of work.

My finance director tells me it is all very simple: income minus expense equals profit. “Record more time, bill more fees, collect more money—keep the costs down, and we are laughing.” When I worked in-house, our general counsel was always under pressure to either employ less headcount or reduce external legal spend—or both. So the client wants more for less, but the law firm wants ever increasing profits. How can we square this circle? How can we compete for quality work whilst still being profitable? And what part does knowledge management (KM) play in this challenge?

Know how much it costs to deliver

Whatever your practice area, it is crucial to