July 15, 2008
Law as business vs. law as profession is a conversation that has largely lost its meaning and relevance, especially in today’s economy. Lawyers must understand some of the basic law firm economics from day 1, if not before. I happened across an article that presents these basics along with a handy acronym, RULER:
Rates: lawyers’ hourly (or alternative) fees
Utilization: the number of billable hours a lawyer works as compared with the cost of maintaining the lawyer
Leverage: the associate:partner ratio
Expenses: what a firm must pay to do business
Realization: the amount of fees collected vs. billed
If you don’t have a solid grasp of law firm economics, read this article NOW. Even if you do get it, a quick refresher might be helpful.
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