Audio Conferences

  July 22, 2008

The associate salary boom that began in large firms last year has definitely gone bust.

Thanks to the waning economy, firms are actively looking for new ideas and strategies to recruit and retain junior lawyers in the context of client resistance to increasing fees and the subsequent flattening out of revenue in many law firms.

This interactive audio conference offers you compensation alternatives being considered and used in law firms across the country.

Today, it’s apparent to many law firm leaders that the "good times" of the past obscured the lack of soundness of their associate compensation structures.

Consequently, the basic challenge for firms of all sizes now involves the pressing need to identify alternatives to the old models of how to compensate associates.

According to data from IOMA’s exclusive Law Practice Management Performance Benchmarks Survey 2008, law firms’ rates and revenues have begun to flatten out—and the issue of associates and their compensation expectations is looming larger than in the past.

Indeed, IOMA research has found salaries for first-year associates, overall, bumped up only slightly from $73,092 in 2006 to $75,436 in 2007.

What about 2008? While few of the law firm leaders queried anticipated significant decreases in overall associate compensation, 22 percent of respondents said 2008 would be a flat year for associate compensation.

How do you balance your firm’s bottom line while recruiting and retaining top talent?

Join IOMA and our panel of industry experts and law firm insiders for a candid interactive discussion of what it takes to mitigate the bottom line impact of associate salaries in these difficult economic times. In just 90 minutes, you’ll learn:

• Insights on current market trends in lawyer compensation, retention, and other relevant industry benchmarks
• How savvy leaders in law firms of varying size are rewarding and retaining top legal talent during the economic downturn
• Ways to combat inflationary pressures and implement alternatives when developing associate compensation packages
• What, aside from increases in compensation, matters most to the midlevels and partners you want to keep
• And more

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

• Law firm administrators
• Managing Partners
• Law firm owners
• CEOs and Executive Directors
• Law firm partners who serve on management and compensation committees
• Recruiting and career professionals in the law firm space

FEATURED FACULTY

Carolyn Wehmann
Owner, Wehmann Consulting

Ronda Muir
Senior Consultant, Robin Rolfe Resources

Emily Busse
Manager Legal Recruiting, K&L Gates

Kimberly Yagelski
Recruiting Director, McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff

Karyn Thomas
Lateral & Diversity Manager, ArentFox