On May 5, 2016, more than 100 managing partners and law firm leaders gathered in Atlanta for The MPF 2016 Leadership Conference. During the opening session, we distributed audience polling devices and asked participants to weigh in on a variety of issues important to leading a successful mid-size law firm. The polling technology is fun, and the results are anonymous and instantaneous. Looking at the data, here are a few highlights from this year’s Conference:

• Ten percent (10%) of firm leaders report that their firms use psychological assessment tools as part of their hiring and recruiting process. With few exceptions, Fortune 1000 companies use these instruments routinely as they onboard and assess talent. Given the importance of recruiting and retaining top legal talent, shouldn’t your law firm be using them as well?
• Thirty-eight percent (38%) of firm leaders say their law firms provide leadership training to junior partners and associates. Sixty percent (60%) say their firms provide training in marketing and business development. To be competitive in the long run, law firms must invest in the “soft skills” of their young lawyers.
• Seventy-three percent (73%) of firm leaders report that that their firms are doing a “fair” or “poor” job when it comes to grooming future leaders. Just two percent (2%) say “excellent.” If your firm’s owners care about succession, here’s an area where most firms can improve.
• Forty percent (40%) of firm leaders say their law firms are proactively dealing with underperforming equity partners. Fifty-nine percent (59%) report that they want to act, but have yet to do anything about the situation. Healthy and successful law firms recognize the importance of dealing with partners who aren’t pulling their weight.

As always, this year’s MPF Audience Polling Results provide great benchmarking data to share with your colleagues. Click here to see the full results of the MPF Audience Polling presentation.

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