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EDITOR'S DESK BY GAIL J. COHEN EWYK and other comp issues type of law you practise, where you are located, or how many people there are in your firm — needs to make money in order to stay afloat. But you may be sur- prised at how "shy" Canadian lawyers are to talk about money. However, we have managed to get some discussions going on both the associ- F ate and partner levels in this annual money issue of Canadian Lawyer. Our cover story, "Crunching the numbers," examines associate profitability, an issue that until recently hasn't really captured the attention of law firm managers in Canada. Perhaps that's because the partner-to-associate ratio, or its trendy name "law firm leverage," has not been as much of a concern in Canada as it has in the United States where there are plenty of highly paid, fixed-salary associates who don't add to the bottom line. Works well when firms are raking in the dough, not so much when the money is not rolling in. Over the last couple of years, over-leveraging has led to tremendous associate layoffs in the U.S. It hasn't been quite as overt in the Canadian market, but that's not to say it isn't time to look at how to make associates more profitable. Our story lays it out, and, perhaps not surprisingly, puts the onus on partners to be the drivers in making their associates more efficient and effective. And on the partnership front, compensation models are also coming under more scrutiny. The profits-per-partner numbers for Canada's big firms are not widely available in the same way as those of Americans (AmLaw 200) and U.K. (U.K. 200) lawyers, and — so I've been told — are not as high. Lockstep, everyone earning the same piece of the pie, and the eat-what-you-kill model remain the two most popular methods for compensating partners, with the latter in Canada being the most pre- dominant. At least that's the way it appears in our Law Office Management column this month which talked to law firm managers about how they're divvying up law firm profits (without revealing any actual numbers). As always with our money issue, readers will find the money theme running throughout the magazine from our always popular legal fees survey, "The going rate," which looks at what lawyers are charging across the country for some of the most common legal work, to our legal reports on M&A and insolvency law. So be sure to let me know if anything hits home or gives rise to ideas for other articles. — gail.cohen@thomsonreuters.com Group Publisher: Karen Lorimer Editorial Director: Gail J. Cohen Staff Writer: Robert Todd Copy Editor: Heather Gardiner Art Director: Bill Hunter Account Co-ordinator: Catherine Giles Contributors: Jean Sorensen, donalee Moulton, Diane Cook, Kathryn Leger, Andi Balla, Michael McKeirnan Canadian Lawyer is published 11 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd., 240 Edward St., Aurora, Ont. L4G 3S9 (905) 841-6480 Fax: (905) 727-0017. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without written permission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information pre- sented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Canadian Lawyer disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. 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Outside Canada 1 year print & digital US$94.50, 1 year digital only US$40. Student rate 1 year print and digital $36 plus HST, 1 year digital only $20 plus HST. For all circulation inquiries and address changes send a copy of your mailing label or labels along with your request in writing to Canadian Lawyer , 240 Edward Street, Aurora, ON, L4G 3S9 or both partners and associates at law firms, it's all about the money. And I don't mean that in a derogatory way. The way lawyers get paid and earn revenue is at the heart of most law firms. Every law firm — no matter what THIS MONTH EXCLUSIVELY ON CANADIAN Lawye rmag.com Trials & Tribulations Margaret Waddell ruminates on issues of import and interest to litigators. June 13 Human Rights . . . Here & Th ere University of Ottawa law school's Sonya Nigam's column on human rights and international law. June 13 David Paul's Field Notes Tips for the solo and small fi rm practitioner from David Paul. June 20 Defi nitely Mabey Stephen Mabey examines the thorny issues facing law fi rm management. June 20 Th e IT Girl Sarah Dale-Harris takes a wry look at the intersection of technology and the law. June 20 Letter from Law Law Land Wit and wisdom from Vancouver's Tony Wilson. June 27 Arguably the Best Torys' Wendy Matheson gives the skinny on making a good fi rst impression in the sixth instalment of our online litigation skills series. June 27 Making Rain Executive coach Debra Forman's video column on career and business development. June 27 Legal Feeds Get daily updates on legal happenings from across Canada. FEEDS LEGAL www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com JUNE 2011 3 www.c anadianla leg wy alf erma eeds g.c om/