In a November 28, 2012 post by Michael Roster in the ABA Journal, he suggests that the traditional formula for law firm profitability — profit per partner = margin x rate x utlization x leverage — needs revamping. Instead, we share the new formula he proposes. “A profitability model might start with […]
As reported by Kera Abraham in a November 23, 2012 post on the Monterey County Weekly, “If lawyers are sharks, then Marina Coast Water District is one fearless surfer.” Hawaii surfer. Charles William Bartlett, artist. 1918. Library of Congress. The District has hired eight outside firms and rotated through
Fannie Mae recently issued a new set of fee ceilings, by state, for attorneys handling nonjudicial and judicial foreclosures of whole mortgages, pooled loans, and mortgage-backed securities tied to Fannie Mae. The guidelines are by jurisdiction, with California breaking down this way: nonjudicial — $1,000 (both attorney’s fees and notary fees included); judicial
Thank You ABA Journal And Thank You Dear Readers! Mike and Marc are proud to announce that California Attorney’s Fees has been awarded a spot in the ABA Journal's Blawg 100, the 6th annual list of the best in blogs about lawyers and the law. We received news of this on
Debra Cassens Weiss, in her November 19, 2012 post in the ABA Journal, reports that a survey of 115 law firms (mainly large ones) show two trends: (1) for this year, partner billable hours have dropped from 2011; and (2) for the first quarter of 2013, 15% of surveyed firms will be cutting
Well, we are approaching the end of the year, and that means some snippets from newspaper articles saved by co-contributor Mike’s father-in-law Tom Basehart. Here you go. Brutal Law Grad Market. A Wall Street Journal analysis earlier this year found that members of the 2011 law school class had little better than
A couple of recent surveys have confirmed, that in these cost savings days fueled even more by the lingering recession, many more law firms and lawyers are absorbing online research costs as overhead rather than passing them onto clients for payment. Mattern & Associates’ 2012 Cost Recovery survey reported that clients increasingly
13 Tips for Fashioning a Value-Fee Engagement Letter. Patrick J. Lamb, in a November 7, 2012 post in the on-line version of the ABA Journal, offers these list of issues to be addressed in an engagement letter using value fees (although many of them sound good in retainer agreements in general): 1.
Co-contributor Marc noticed a somewhat chilling story about borrowers who successfully won a fraudulent “dual tracking” case against OneWest Bank. (“Dual tracking” is the nomenclature for the practice by which some lenders simultaneously pursued foreclosure remedies while attempting loan modification negotiations with borrowers.) According to an October 31, 2012 story in the
As reported by Lou Ponsi in the October 26, 2012 online issue of The Orange County Register, Brea City Council candidate Steve Vargas brought a suit challenging the city clerk’s alleged omission in allowing attribution of oppositions to two ballot measures to the entire city council rather than just two city councilmen who
