New Managing Partner and Executive Director Survey Released - Shows Significant Differences in Roles by Firm Size

Newtown Square, PA – Altman Weil, Inc., management consultants to the legal profession, has just released its 2001 Managing Partner and Executive Director Survey for law firms.  The survey, which has been conducted two times in the past decade, examines managers’ responsibilities, time spent in firm management and their reporting relationships.  The survey also reveals specific compensation and benefits information, including salaries, cash bonuses and benefits.

Highlights from the survey include:

• Tenure - Over half of the managing partners responded that their tenure is indefinite, or until they are replaced.  Almost 20% of the managing partners have been granted lifetime tenure.
• Compensation of managing partners falls between that of the average and the highest-paid partner.  In smaller law firms, the managing partner compensation is closer to the highest-paid partner.  In mid-sized to larger firms, executive director compensation exceeded the lowest partner compensation while approaching the average partner compensation in the largest firms.
• Duties in firms with 100 or more lawyers, the managing partners spend 60% of their time on firm management, 12% of their time on public relations or developing business and 28% of their time practicing law.  In comparison, managing partners in firms with 15 to 29 lawyers spend 32% of their time on firm management, 11% of their time on public relations or developing business and 57% of their time practicing law.

The 2001 Managing Partner and Executive Director Survey contains information from 190 participants, including 100 managing partners and 90 executive directors.  Of the participants, 58% are from multi-office law firms and 17% or 33 of the respondents are from large law firms of over 100 lawyers.  The survey data is analyzed by size of firm as well as level of management with nearly equal distribution of participants in the Northeast, South, Midwest and Western regions.

The survey report is available from Altman Weil for $295, plus shipping and handling.  Please visit the Altman Weil, Inc. eCommerce site at https://store.altmanweil.com or call (888) 782-7297 or fax (610) 359-0467 to place your order.

Altman Weil, Inc. conducts comprehensive annual surveys of law firm economics and compensation, law firm compensation systems, corporate law department compensation and metrics (in cooperation with the American Corporate Counsel Association) and other surveys of interest to the profession.