S. Law Firm Finance and Management

Course Overview

The legal sector is undergoing substantial change, driven by client pressure, inter-firm competition, and technology. To be an effective leader, you will need a deep and critical understanding of its business side. Comprehending how law firms and legal industry operate will equip you with proficiencies to effectively navigate through the changing legal industry landscape.

As a future associate, future partner or General Counsel, you will need to understand and respond to both macro and micro events which impact you, your team, and your organization. You will have to make critical business decisions for profitable growth with clarity on financial implications of your actions. Experience shows that law firm senior management highly appreciate the business knowledge of entering associates.

This course will equip you with structures for understanding and analyzing law firms and management & legal industry dynamics; and tools to interpret financial implication of managerial actions and frameworks. Learning about finance and management will provide you background to make effective personal and professional decisions well into your career.

This course will cover all aspects: finance, management and organization; and fundamental financial and managerial processes. You will learn interrelationship of strategy, management actions and consequent financial impacts. Many course learnings can help you with better financial and strategic analysis of your clients. A recent key industry survey recommended accounting and financial statement analysis as most valuable subject material for all law school students.

Class topics are:
o Legal industry overview and law firm organization
o Elements of law firm finance and key firm financial statements
o Business development, marketing, branding and communications
o Client purchasing decisions, AFAs, RFPs
o Firm growth mechanisms and success/failure factors
o Law firm strategy and future structures

Evaluation is based on class participation, Harvard Law and Harvard Business school cases, individual assignments and a student project. We plan to invite key legal industry leaders as guest speakers.