Don Akins
Senior Consultant
(830) 336-2169 – office
(830) 388-6311 – mobile
dakins@lawvisiongroup.com
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Mr. Akins’ experience working with
lawyers spans more than 35 years. His primary areas of expertise are
strategic planning, partner compensation, practice management, mergers
and acquisitions, and general counseling. As a senior advisor to
LawVision Group’s clientele, Don focuses his efforts on serving as a
trusted advisor to law firm leaders, including the Managing Partner and
members of the Executive Leadership team, and leading teams of LawVision
Group specialists as needed to meet the particular needs of the client.
Strategic Planning
- Assists
firms and practice groups with determining their future direction by
analyzing their competitive environment, assessing their current
conditions, and guiding them through the strategy process, while
adapting that process to the style of the specific firm.
- Helps individual lawyers develop and realize performance goals within the context of firm and practice group strategy.
- Plans and facilitates firm retreats and assists lawyers in facilitating on-going strategy and planning updates.
Partner Compensation
- Designs
firm-customized partner and associate compensation plans that encourage
and reward positive behavior, while recognizing firm cultural
constraints and goals.
- Teaches firms how to use compensation plans as planning tools
- Structures capitalization plans and withdrawal policies.
Management and Governance
- Designs client-driven practice structures and identifies and focuses the resources needed to address client needs.
- Designs alternative pricing approaches and assists firms in their implementation.
- Functions as an in-house consultant by helping firms analyze the impact of new ideas and programs.
Mergers and Acquisitions
- In the context of the firm’s strategy, helps firms determine whether a merger or acquisition is appropriate for their needs.
- Works with firms to identify and approach appropriate target merger or acquisition partners, facilitating initial conversations.
- Analyzes feasibility of potential mergers/ acquisitions and coordinates merger discussions.
- Designs implementation guidelines and facilitates firm integration.
Briefings and Speeches
As a longtime
member of the legal management profession, Don has spoken extensively in
all venues, including speeches and briefings for a majority of State
Bar Associations, The American Bar Association, Law Practice Management
Section of the American Bar Association, British Columbia Law Society
and the Association of Legal Administrators.
Professional Associations
- Past President of Association of Legal Administrators
- Initial Group of Fellows, College Law Practice Management
- Former Guest Faculty, MBA Program in Law Firm Management, Nottingham Law School, Nottingham, England
Education
- University of Texas, B.B.A.
Additional Information
The following articles are not currently available online. For reprint options please contact LawVision Group LLC.
- Pay Them Well and They Will Leave, An Alternative to the Associate Track System, Legal Management
- Avoiding a Critical Mess in Your Search for Critical Mass, Legal Management
- Bottom Line on Being a New Partner, Texas Lawyer
- Don’t Retreat at a Firm Retreat, California Lawyer
- Last of the Buffalo Hunters, Law Practice Management
- Partner Compensation as a Planning Tool, Law Practice Management
- Restructuring for Survival: On the Cutting Edge, Not the Chopping Block, ALA News
- Restructuring for Survival II: Demonstrating Leadership Potential, ALA News
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