Law Firm Leaders Should Meet Budgets or Take a Pay Cut, Ex-MP Says

Law firm leaders who miss budget projections for partner income should make up the difference through cuts in their own pay, a former managing partner says.

Edwin Reeser, a business lawyer who was managing partner of the Los Angeles office of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, says law firm leaders need to demonstrate confidence in their budgets and business plans by holding themselves accountable for the outcomes.

“It is time for the talk to take a back seat to the walk that will instill confidence in leadership partners who are tasked to look after and promote the best interests of their firm,” he writes for the Am Law Daily. “Those ‘leaders’ who are unwilling to do so can resign and be replaced with persons who take the responsibility of leadership seriously.”

Reeser notes that beginning in October, partner compensation for next year will be set and more cost cutting may be proposed. When leadership partners stand behind their budget projections, “the process will deliver a budget that will finally confront reality,” he says.