| COVER STORY: The Hit Britain's top law firms have a cash management battle on their hands |
In this month's issue The business of being clever, of coming up with solutions, and of putting your reputation on the line in doing so, is unarguably lucrative. In this, the season of financial reporting and analysis, a wider public is alerted to the profession they didn't join. The reverberations of the uninitiated, observing from afar the size of law firm partner profits, can occasionally lead to unfavourable moral comparisons with, say, teachers. Our LB100 financial analysis - now in its 12th year - offers digits galore. It takes centre stage in this new-look Legal Business. It's matured with its market: the screaming excitement over large partner profit figures is now superseded by rigorous business analysis of the revenue generation capabilities of what are now some seriously expansive national and international businesses. By focusing on the revenue generation capabilities, you get an idea of whether the hard work is worth it. For example, Simmons' lawyers brought in an average of £247,000 each over the 2003-04 financial year. But Simmons' costs are too high: it's only converting £57,000 of that figure into profit for the equity partners, who this year will enjoy slightly over a quarter of a million pounds for their labours. Knowing what you're good at, and focusing on it - rather than ineffectual stabs at world-conquering - pays dividends. Any maths teacher will tell you that.
Tom Freeman, Editor | LEGAL BUSINESS APPOINTMENTS | THE LEADER Pritchard
Decade of the £5m partner | THE BUSINESS
Claire Smith introduces the month's news, analysis and comment | THE FORUM
Equity partnerships - the debate. Two different philosophies at Wragge & Co and DLA.
Pro bono - From Guantanamo to Three Rivers. Allen & Overy and Linklaters take action to protect civil liberties and basic legal rights |  MAGIC CIRCLE Losing your touch
The UK's elite law firms are under pressure as never before, with the competition chipping away at market share. Vanessa Pawsey asks the clients about their switches |  THE LEGAL BUSINESS 100 Seeing red
Full analysis of the performance of the UK's top 100 law firms. There's a lot of money around, but partners would do well to demand an efficiency drive |  COVER STORY Cash dash
Managing revenues at the UK's largest law firms has never looked so tough. The bottom line is cashflow - James Baxter finds out where they're going wrong | IRELAND Fortress Ireland
Dublin's top five firms once seemed set in stone. Now Mairead Keohane asks if there is room for a sixth member of the elite | THE SOURCE
A new Legal Business section gives clients a voice: shopping around is certainly in vogue in the retail sector, discovers James Baxter | BACK PAGE
The low-down on Sven-Goran Eriksson's first team lawyers |
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