PricewaterhouseCoopers Releases Benchmarking Results for Law Firms

he Law Firm Survey Group of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a leading provider of comprehensive benchmarking information on a broad range of law firm management issues, recently announced the results of three critical benchmarking law firm surveys. These surveys include the firm's inaugural release of the Cultural Awareness and Inclusion Survey (CAIS), which focuses on diversity at law firms; the annual Law Firm Statistical Survey (LFSS); and the bi-annual Billing Rate & Associate Salary Surveyplus (BRASSplus).

An update of BRASSplus – showcasing additional metrics on terminations and partner compensation -– is now underway. Results of the Mid-Year Release of the BRASSplus will be distributed in October; interested law firms are still welcome to participate.

“In these times of economic instability, providing your firm with key benchmarking insight on rate erosion, borrowing levels and employee retention can prove helpful when measuring up your competition,” said Laurie Lieb, Director in the PwC Law Firm Survey Group. “Participants in these surveys obtain objective knowledge of where they stand among competitors and can use the data to develop strategies to assist them in navigating through these difficult and changing economic times.”

All benchmarking reports will include data displayed by firm size, location, profitability and practice specialty. As with any PwC Law Firm Survey, participants can create customized peer groups for benchmarking purposes.

A thought leadership article summarizing the findings from each Survey will be made available to the public in the coming weeks. More information about each of PwC's law firm survey offerings is available on the Survey website at www.pwc.com/lfsurveys.

Cultural Awareness and Inclusion Survey (CAIS)

The CAIS was developed with significant input from PwC’s Cultural Transformations Advisory Group and members of the Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association, as well as law firms recognized for their public commitment to expanding diversity efforts.

In order for the Survey to provide a broad picture of a firm’s diversity, the final report includes two sections. Section One provides detailed gender and minority statistics (by office and/or practice group) for law firm timekeepers in areas such as headcount ratios, utilization, revenue, promotions and turnover. Section Two summarizes firm-wide diversity efforts in five key areas, including leadership, programs/initiatives, recruitment, retention and promotions, and client management.

Billing Rate & Associate Salary Surveyplus (BRASSplus)

The BRASSplus provides data to its participants on the entire spectrum of the client billing process -– from a firm's published rate and agreed-upon rate to the actual client 'billed' rate. This benchmarking across the entire rate cycle allows firms to gauge the levels of rate erosion experienced during this tough economic period.

Participants can chose to benchmark on both geographic and practice group levels and can customize results by peers, groups and/or geographic locations.

“The BRASSplus results provide participants with information to strategize on ways to stay competitive in managing rates in their respective local markets and regions,” explains Lieb.

Law Firm Statistical Survey (LFSS)

The LFSS focuses on a firm's expense management. Participants receive an overall summary report which provides information on revenue and expense metrics covering each administrative function. In addition, each participant receives a supplemental Detailed Operations Report, which benchmarks a firm's individual expense components within each broader expense category.

This year, the Survey added four “Hot Topics,” which were identified by participants as key areas influencing their firm’s growth in the current economy, including:

Client Concentration
Bank Borrowings & Credit Lines
New Partner Capital Buy-In
Treatment of Non-Equity Partners

“This survey allows law firms to assess how well their firm is managing its debt, expense and staffing ratios while maintaining a competitive stride,” said Lieb.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has nearly 100 years of experience servicing law firms and 50 years of providing critical benchmarking information to the legal profession.

PricewaterhouseCoopers works with a majority of the leading private companies in the U.S. Our 2,000 private company individuals focus on understanding the strategy and business objectives of private companies and their owners, working together to add value while reducing risk. Our professionals are provided with cross training to enable them to connect the dots across a number of private company issues such as compliance, controls, access to cash flow, expansion, exit strategies, succession, wealth management and the many areas that can help build or diminish long-term success and value. For more information about PwC's private companies services please visit pwc.com/pcs.

PricewaterhouseCoopers provides industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to build public trust and enhance value for our clients and their stakeholders. More than 163,000 people in 151 countries across our network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice.

Cepac Lawyer Web Marketing Develops Content Management System (CMS) for Lawyers

Cepac, attorney and law firm marketing consultants specializing in law firm website development, internet marketing / search engine optimization, and press release writing and distribution, announces the release of their updated website content management system (CMS) for lawyers.

The value of a website with CMS to any law firm in this challenging economic environment is mission critical for law firm web marketing success. Legal marketing experts know that in order for law firms to consistently attract new prospects on the web, firm websites must be updated regularly to satisfy the search engines hunger for fresh content. With the introduction of the search engine Bing and the rumors that Google's enhanced search engine, Caffeine will be more focused on content, Cepac's updated CMS couldn't be timelier.

Content management systems enable law firms to easily update, change, or add content to their firm websites with literally no technical skills through access to an Admin panel using any of the popular web browsers. Cepac's new iteration naturally includes a full array of familiar and simple editing tools that affords the ability to manage and deploy any volume or style of content including pictures, video, and audio streams. Legal support staff familiar with Microsoft Word will recognize the available tools immediately.

Regardless of the size of a law firm, from solo practitioners to large firms, Cepac's CMS is an effective way of containing the costs associated with maintaining a website because virtually all of the management and maintenance of web content can be performed in-house, eliminating the need to call a web design company for every update.

The professional Cepac team believes that regardless of the type of case, personal injury, business, criminal, family or any other area of law, consumers today rely predominantly on web based outlets for researching, selecting, and contacting attorneys. Staying ahead of the curve with competitive firms in the same geographic area of influence is essential to the success of any law firm. Cepac's CMS is a vital tool in meeting that goal and giving a firm's website the best possible chance for high rankings in the search engines. Providing valuable information for prospects also increases the conversions to clients.

Cepac's commitment to taking legal advertising to a higher level sets their legal marketing firm apart from all other law firm marketing consultants. Creating compelling marketing and advertising is their passion. By working with Cepac's full-service lawyer marketing agency, clients are partnered with professionals who are dedicated to excellence. Cepac's passion is evident in all areas of their acclaimed marketing and advertising strategies and campaigns including: TV production; media planning; public and media relations; search engine marketing with blog creation, maintenance and online press releases; web site design; and print and radio advertising.