Get complete and systematic guidance on
establishing a workable compensation plan!
Craft a compensation plan that meets your firm's unique needs and circumstances.
Discover what other firms use and avoid.
Take advantage of the latest trends.
Stay flexible but fair.
Achieve stability through satisfaction.
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About the Book
This newly updated fourth edition of Compensation Plans for Law Firms examines the continually evolving compensation landscape and the concepts that will affect your law firm most. You'll take an extensive look at the world of law firm compensation, including:
Compensation theory
The art and science of compensation
Partner and shareholder compensation
Of Counsel compensation
Associate compensation
Paralegal compensation
Staff compensation
Bonuses, increases, and incentives
Debt, taxes, retirement, and withdrawal
Evaluations, fairness and flexibility
. . . and much more!
Learn Where Your Firm Stands The book also features valuable data from the leading legal consulting firm Altman Weil's annual and triennial surveys on law firm performance and compensation, retirement and withdrawal and compensation systems. Charts and graphs help you see where your firm stands on salaries and bonuses, and it gives you detailed analyses of compensation plans for everyone in your firm. Compare your compensation system to law firms across the country.
This one volume provides you with your primary research source leading you to auxiliary sources for further information as appropriate. They can support your current compensation system, or help you reevaluate your current methods of compensation.
Appendices To Help You Polish Your Plan The book also features appendices that highlight key compensation issues, including:
One approach to allocating client production credit;
Articles on capital, retirement planning, and the importance of people decisions;
Criteria for defining exempt employees;
and a survey of the prevalence of fringe benefits.
Careful advance consideration is essential to the success of your compensation plan. Using this valuable reference you can develop a compensation plan that conveys fairness, simplicity, and flexibility and strike the perfect balance within your firm.
From the Book
"Is the individual making $100,000 truly a partner with the individual making $1 million?" It's an interesting question to consider. At what point does the disparity between the highest-paid partner and lowest-paid partner become so vast that the concept of partnership breaks down? Are there exceptions? Does it really matter? The answers vary. Generally, in firms of fewer than 100 lawyers, once the ratio of the highest-paid to lowest-paid partner exceeds 6:1, there is a loss of partnership identity. Larger firms seem more comfortable with spreads in excess of 6:1; their size and operating economics allow for such differences. Often, if you go beyond the one or two highest-paid partners, the ratio for the balance of the partners becomes much closer. This is a typical pattern in a law firm with one or two superstar rainmakers.
