Restructuring & Turnarounds

Restructuring and turnarounds demand proven business acumen, deep management experience, and uncompromising rigour along with a calm demeanour as well as flexibility, determination and grit bolstered by senses of humour and the ridiculous. 

This is warrior’s work. There is a dearth of this type of mercenary talent within the legal services sector.

Backed by first-hand experience — with scars to prove it — I consult on restructuring and turnarounds based on solid and successful business management expertise and experience.

Having helped law firms restructure practices groups, industry teams, client service departments and firm-wide client-facing systems, I understand the peculiarities and sensitivities of doing so within the legal services sector. To date, some but certainly not all of these mandates have been handled as part of an interim management engagement.

Prior to legal, I successfully restructured two major business turnarounds — one was a privately-held company while the other was public, federally-regulated and unionized — that had struggled for nine and 19 years respectively. Both were repositioned by fixating on the core business, eliminating the ancillary, maximizing profit margins, enabling change based on hard data and exact timing with short-term goals, mid-term milestones and long-term objectives, and keeping intact a team that embraced the vision.

The private company’s budget was trimmed 62.5 per cent while its distribution increased 714.71 per cent. The public company’s reallocated budget remained flat, staff doubled, and distribution increased 170.02 per cent.

These turnarounds happened fast — six and 19-months respectively — and remain successful and solvent to this day.

Now I work with law firm leaders and legal service professionals who have the foresight and courage to want those same results.