News from the IBA

Partners' Remuneration Survey

The Practice Management and Technology Committee of the International Bar Association concerns itself with all aspects of law office management. Recent Conference sessions have included ' Marketing a Niche Practice 'and' Partner Development'. The Committee is also responsible for the popular Managing Partners' Breakfasts held at IBA and Section on Legal Practice Conferences. 

A recent initiative of the Committee has been to produce the IBA's first ever Remuneration Survey. 

The idea of a Remuneration Survey arose at our Committee's Dublin Conference on Law Practice Management in November 1998. With so many Managing Partners attending from such a variety of countries from all parts of the globe, we thought that some interesting statistical information could be obtained. This information would be unique, while at the same time extremely informative and potentially helpful to managing partners in plotting the future course of their firms. 

It took some considerable time to devise the questionnaire to make it meaningful in an international context. Eventually, we produced something that we thought would provide answers of interest to both the members of our Committee and to the legal profession in general.  

The Survey was sent out to all 429 current members of our Committee. We were well aware that a number of recipients would not be qualified to respond. They would either be sole practitioners, or engaged in the consultancy professions. While we hoped for a good response, we knew that this was a pioneering venture, and we could not be sure. In the end, we received 50 completed questionnaires, which must be treated as a satisfactory response for a first attempt. Our plan is to make the Survey an annual event, and we hope in time to improve the quality and number of the questions, so that the results grow in usefulness. 

Collating and analysing the responses proved a difficult task. Our Committee officers may be lawyers, but they are not trained statisticians. We received enormous help from the IBA Office in terms of analysis and production of bar and pie charts.  

In fact, the production of the Survey was very much a joint effort between lawyers and IBA staff members. Neither could have done the job without the other. 

A contribution to the Survey ensures receipt of a free copy. It is intended that the Survey will be made available to others interested, but they will be expected to pay a reasonable fee for the privilege (see below). A summary will be available as a 'taster' for those potentially interested, and we hope to publicise the findings in a short form in the legal press internationally.  

The Partners' Remuneration Survey is a first for our Committee and also a first in world terms. There are any number of local surveys on this subject carried out for varying purposes, but this is the first to take such a global perspective. We hope that what our Committee has produced is of genuine benefit to those who contributed to it, to our Committee members (more of whom should participate next year), to the International Bar Association generally and to the legal profession as a whole. It has been an enjoyable and exciting exercise for Committee officers. We look forward to it becoming a regular feature of the Committee's activities. 

Copies of the Survey cost £25 and can be ordered from the IBA office:

Publications Department
International Bar Association
271 Regent Street
London W1R 7PA
Fax: (44) 171 409 0456
E-mail: [email protected]

Michael D Simmons
Finers, London
Chair, Practice Management and Technology Committee