Partner Ronald Shechtman Participates in Managing Partner Roundtable
Pryor Cashman Managing Partner Ron Shechtman recently participated in an issues roundtable sponsored by Legal BisNow for “all-star managing partners” at the Russian Tea Room.
When asked his general outlook for law firms, Shechtman responded that “the last few years have been a period of enormous opportunity for mid-sized firms, but uncertainty remains. Our greatest indicator is corporate activity, which has increased to a level not seen in a long time.”
Shechtman said that despite critics’ suggestion that mid-sized firms would go the way of the dinosaurs, they’re looking like an advanced evolutionary creature, not just surviving, but thriving, thanks to a tight cost structure, flexible billing, and an entrepreneurial platform.
In response to a question about how talent management has changed, Shechtman replied that Pryor Cashman’s “partners are charged with the responsibility to see not how many bodies can you put on a case, but how few.”
Another question posed to the group was if clients aren’t willing to pay for 1st and 2nd year associates, how do you develop them and sustain the firm model? Shechtman responded: “We deferred our first years from September until January. We started them at a lower pay scale and set a goal of 1500 hours to receive the full salary. By July, they were way ahead of the goal.”
In terms of trends related to cash flow management and collections, Shechtman told Biz Now: “I’ve seen our December numbers becoming larger and larger. The last two were our largest Decembers ever. I’m hoping the trend will continue this year.”
To read Part 1 of Legal BisNow’s December 17, 2010 article about the roundtable, please click here. For Part 2, which appeared on December 20, 2010, please click here.
