Law Times

Analytics playing a growing role in partner compensation BY JULIUS MELNITZER For Law Times etrics have become the latest buzzword in the ongoing struggle to bring order to the thorny issue of partner compensa- tion at law firms. While there have been sugges- tions that traditional compensa- tion models at law firms rely on outdated standards that incor- porate subjective evaluations to varying degrees, it's not that statis- tical input has suddenly become a leading-edge tool in evaluating partner earnings. Numbers have always mat- tered, whether by way of measur- ing billable hours, revenue genera- tion, originating credits, and other relevant factors. "We've been selling the met- rics space for a decade," says Jim Cotterman of Altman Weil Inc., a firm that provides management consulting services exclusively to legal organizations. But experts say the changing nature of the business of law, espe- cially given client pressures and the global economic crisis, is dictating a move away from merely accu- mulating the perceived relevant statistics and applying subjective standards to them to using sophis- ticated analytics-based method- ologies to calculate compensation. "As firms' strategies have changed, compensation structures haven't kept up," says Daniel Ronesi, di- rector of business of law services at Atlanta-based Aderant Holdings Inc., a global provider of business management software for profes- sional services firms. Historically, the primary driv- ers of partner compensation have been production (fees generated by the lawyer personally) and origination (credit for bringing in clients). But more and more Canadian firms, like their U.S. counterparts, have begun to use so-called in- formed combination programs in setting partner pay. "These programs combine what has become known as the four Ps with other factors that demonstrate how well the part- ner is contributing economically and advancing the firm's stra- tegic interests and values," says A DAILY BLOG OF CANADIAN LEGAL NEWS FEEDS LEGAL POWERED BY CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/LEGALFEEDS FEEDS LEGAL POWERED BY LegalFeeds_LT_Dec1_14.indd 1 2014-11-26 9:44 AM Big expectations for new justice minister But those who know Wilson-Raybould say she's up for the job BY NEIL ETIENNE Law Times espite a hefty list of legal issues rest- ing squarely on her shoulders, Jody Wilson-Raybould is in a good posi- tion to carry the load as Canada's jus- tice minister, say several people who know her. The daughter of well-known and oftentimes outspoken First Nations politician and University of British Columbia law graduate Bill Wilson, Wil- son-Raybould brings her father's passion and de- termination with the added finesse of patience and a sharp acumen for all levels of the law, say those who knew them both. "It's incredibly significant to have her appointed, unprecedented," says Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, the president of the Union of British Columbia In- dian Chiefs who has known Wilson-Raybould for about 12 years. "There was a time I thought she would be the national chief, but I quickly realized that's aiming too low." The two actually ran against each other for re- gional chief in 2009, but Phillip quickly dropped out of the race and threw his support behind Wil- son-Raybould. "I realized she was a very gifted leader and she was going to be an important person in any posi- tion she took," says Phillip. "She simply stood head and shoulders above all of us, so I stepped back and found myself advising her instead." With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's appoint- ment of Wilson-Raybould as justice minister this month, the rookie MP for Vancouver Granville made history as the first aboriginal to hold the job. A lawyer called to the bar in 2000, she's a former regional chief of the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations who has also acted as an adviser for the B.C. Treaty Commission. She has also been a director of the First Nations Lands Advisory Board and chairwoman of the First Nations Finance Au- thority. Former B.C. attorney general Wally Oppal says that as a Crown prosecutor, Wilson-Raybould worked out of the Main Street courthouse in Van- couver that's in the heart of the city's Downtown Eastside. "She knows first-hand the issues facing the jus- tice system. She would have an intimate under- standing of the issues facing access to justice, par- ticularly for the unrepresented, the impoverished, and those in despair," says Oppal. "On top of that, she brings an understanding of aboriginal issues that will help lead issues like the missing women's inquiry or reconciliation." Oppal says that as a former attorney general for his province, he knows the challenges Wilson- Raybould faces in her first few months on the job with an agenda filled with hefty issues such as physician-assisted suicide, the inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women, and mandatory minimum sentences for gun offences. "She has a TARION REVIEW Lawyers welcome Cunningham's appointment P4 CONSUMER PROTECTION Ontario needs new body for insurance matters P7 FOCUS ON Labour & Employment Law P8 People who know Jody Wilson-Raybould describe her as a skilled listener and 'painstakingly impartial. See Profitability, page 2 See Long-sought, page 2 'There's more and more credit shifting going on as firms focus on getting senior partners to hand off relationships by way of ensuring con- tinuity in the long run," says Jim Cotterman. PM #40762529 & $#&!&jmmm$cYa[bbWh$Yec ntitled-4 1 12-03-20 10:44 AM $5.00 • Vol. 26, No. 36 November 16, 2015 Follow LAW TIMES on www.twitter.com/lawtimes L AW TIMES D M

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