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Have tickets, will travel?

By: ED POLL//September 7, 2009//

Have tickets, will travel?

By: ED POLL//September 7, 2009//

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With the recession hurting revenue, cutting expenses is the most feasible way for law firms to preserve profitability.

But some expenses are better targets than others. For example, canceling meetings that bring people together for training, sharing of best practices, networking and meeting in person is a risky way to save money. Yet law firms are increasingly taking (or feel they are forced to take) drastic action to curtail meetings and travel that is focused on internal firm needs, even legitimate education or governance ones, to demonstrate cost-cutting commitment.

Increasingly the question posed for all firm meetings and educational programs is: what’s the return on investment?

In the past the response has been that if a person takes away from a seminar or retreat one good idea that benefits the firm, the cost of attendance is justified. Today the answer may not be so simple.

The issue ultimately rests on the value of professional and organizational development. Can it be conducted only if it’s local, or is there something to be said for travel and for meeting away from daily distractions? Technology – videoconferencing, webcasts and the like – make it possible to absorb the content of a meeting without actually being there, but many organizations (like the National Speakers’ Association) have found that live contact among people enhances and expands both learning (in educational programs) and decision-making (in governance meetings).

Consider education and training programs, which should not be just a function of CLE courses for lawyers. Giving staff the right training and support will give any lawyer enhanced confidence in the law office team. Training on business realities may be had at a local community college or in a nearby city. The worth of the program always has to be assessed, but if staff and administrators are expected to do more with less, the value of training becomes all the more important.

For lawyer CLE training, firms must differentiate between material-driven programs that could just as easily be experienced as a webinar, and panel discussions or group learning experiences in which personal presence makes all the difference.

When the issue turns to retreats and firm or group meetings, the given is that “firm culture” is a primary determinant of law firm success. Camaraderie, the exchange of ideas, the education of one lawyer by another – these are vital to a successful firm, and an all-firm meeting or retreat off-site is the ideal mechanism to facilitate them. But do you need to go to a posh resort, or will a nearby Marriott or Hyatt suffice?

In today’s business environment, it seems reasonable to suggest that education and conferences, including related travel, should be considered adjustable expenses. Dollars spent on them can be modified as budget and business requirements demand. But to eliminate them would seem foolish in the extreme.

Law firms that understand how the personal learning experience enhances their ability to provide value to clients will be the firms that survive today and thrive tomorrow when the economy improves – as it inevitably will.

Ed Poll J.D., M.B.A., CMC is the principal of LawBiz® Management, a national law firm practice management consultancy based in Venice, California. For more information, visit his Web site www.LawBiz.com or email him at [email protected].

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