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Statewide Roundup
Of tourists and toll roads
CEO Sounding Board
Byrd F. “Biff” Marshall Jr.
President, managing shareholder / rayRobinson,
Orlando
“One of the trends has been to go to some form of alternative fee billing. Probably this year 20% of our revenues will be where the clients either pay a flat fee or where they pay a fee based on performance. We got away from bonuses based on billable hours for associates a long time ago. We don’t think that’s a way to train associates. The big trend now is clients taking it in-house. The power is in the hands of clients now and no longer in the hands of lawyers where they can raise their rates every year.”
Bowman Brown
Chairman, executive committee / Shutts & Bowen,
Miami
“I expect dramatic change in the way law firms operate and the business of law is conducted. To control costs, businesses are dramatically expanding their legal departments. Business law firms will separate into two types. The first type will be firms that handle major, significant matters … major acquisitions, regulatory issues to some extent, to some extent intellectual property issues and specialty areas of the law. The other type will be business law firms that handle more routine day-to- day insurance defense and things like that. That will be lower-rate business, with lawyers compensated on a more modest basis.”
Ronald L. Kammer
Partner-in-charge/ Hinshaw & Culbertson,
Coral Gables
“When I started practicing law 35 years ago, which was before lawyers had computers, it was commonplace for each lawyer to have his or her own assistant. The trend now is somewhere between 3-to-1 and 4-to-1. You will continue to see less staff or a repositioning of staff. I think you’re going to see more efficient use of space. Space and salaries are the largest two expenses of a law firm. You’re going to see more lawyers working out of their homes and less in the office. The age of partners having large offices, it’s ending now.”
