Audio Conferences

  February 1, 2007 at 02:00PM ET

Have you developed long-term strategies for securing your midsize firm’s future?

While law firm merger mania has not ended, an exclusive IOMA survey reveals that midsize firms are finding new ways to succeed without having to merge.

The survey finds that law firms of 51 to 150 lawyers are anticipating large improvements in gross revenue by the end of the fiscal year: 46% expect that 2006 gross revenue will be better than last year’s by 11% to 20%, and 36% said improvements would range from 6% to 10%.

Despite myriad challenges, many midsize firms are taking definitive steps to increase revenue, keep costs at reasonable levels, and build strategically limited practices that keep them independent and successful.

Join IOMA and a distinguished panel of law firm leaders for a 90-minute discussion of the unique organizational and structural strategies in use at today’s thriving midsize firms. Partners and administrators of firms of all sizes will find valuable insights such as:

• How firms differentiate themselves in the market as well as in recruiting
• The distinct advantages of mid-sized firms and how successful firms are exploiting them
• The management decisions behind professionally and financially successful firms i.e. Platform Configuration: depth vs. breadth
• What’s keeping leaders of midsize firms up at night?
• Embracing and managing growth and change
• The importance of leadership and management in this process plus remuneration for successful management
• Transition issues: how to keep it going from first generation to the next

Featured Faculty

Martin D. Beirne
Managing Partner
Martin Beirne is a founding partner of Houston law firm Beirne, Maynard, & Parsons. He has extensive trial experience in complex business litigation, intellectual property, oil and gas, products liability, automotive litigation, and antitrust. In 2003, Corporate Legal Times named Mr. Beirne as one of only three “Top Drawer Litigators” on its list of “go to” lawyers in the U.S.

Joseph J. LoPresti, Jr.
McDonald Hopkins Co., LPA
Mr. LoPresti has served as president of McDonald Hopkins since 1999; for 17 years prior to that, he served as chair of the firm’s Business Department. Additionally, Mr. LoPresti works with many privately and publicly held businesses, where he focuses his practice on providing counsel in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, commercial banking and finance and strategic planning.

Christopher P. Litterio, Esq.
Managing Shareholder
Ruberto, Israel & Weiner, P.C.
Mr. Litterio is managing shareholder of the Boston firm Ruberto, Israel & Weiner. He concentrates his practice in litigation, including securities, banking, corporate, employment, international arbitration and intellectual property.

Howard J. Swibel
Partner
Arnstein & Lehr LLP
Mr. Swibel is a Partner at Arnstein & Lehr LLP, where he has practiced since 1983. He is the longest serving current member of the Firm's Executive Committee, having been first elected in 1983 and has also held the position of Administrative Partner. During a legal career spanning more than 20 years, Mr. Swibel has developed substantial expertise in both the corporate transactional and litigation areas.

Jeff Coburn
Managing Director
Coburn Consulting

Jeff has been a management consultant to the legal industry since 1985. Coburn Consulting is a Boston-based firm providing strategy and management services to midsize and larger law firms throughout the country. Formerly, Jeff was a member of the Law Firm Consulting Group of Arthur Andersen LLP, where he advised law firms in the areas of strategic planning, practice group planning and management, organization and governance, marketing and practice development, and mergers and acquisitions. Jeff is a frequent author on legal planning and management topics for numerous legal and business periodicals including The ABA Journal, The American Lawyer, The National Law Journal, Legal Management, Legal Times, Lawyers’ Weekly, The Boston Business Journal, and Crain’s New York Business. For the past five years, he has been a member of the editorial board of the ALA’s national publication, Legal Management. He has also been a frequent speaker at legal industry conferences including the Association of Legal Administrators, the Legal Marketing Association, and various state bar associations.