More than half of the AmLaw 200 firms now have practice management programs, according to a study conducted by the McCormick Group. That represents more than a 50 percent increase since TMG’s last study, conducted in 2017.
The study indicates that practice management is now firmly ensconced among the largest firms. Of the 50 largest firms in the AmLaw 200, 42 have at least one administrative professional focused on management of a practice group. Overall, 73 of the largest 100 firms have at least one such professional.
Not surprisingly, practice management programs are much less common in the second hundred, with only 30 percent having at least one professional.
Overall, 103 out of the AmLaw 200 have practice management programs, up from 67 in 2017 an increase of 53.7 percent.
The McCormick Group study was conducted in January-February 2024. TMG used a variety of sources, including pre-existing proprietary information, LinkedIn, and other public sources. TMG also spoke to law firm practice management representatives. Finally, TMG reviewed its findings with a leading industry consultant on practice group management, Susan Lambreth of Law Vision.
Several caveats are in order. We only included firms that had at least one practice management professional assigned to a department or practice group. As a result, firms with just a sole Chief Practice Management Officer or a Practice Management Director focused firmwide were not included. On the other hand, we did include about 10 firms that have just one practice management professional on staff, often in unique areas such as Intellectual Property and Immigration.
Lambreth believes that the number of firms adopting practice group management will continue to increase. “The move to management through practices will continue as firms realize that they achieve higher levels of profitability, collaboration across offices and better market positioning through effective practice groups,” she says.
For more information, please contact Steve Nelson at snelson@tmg-dc.com.
