Good governance has become a critical condition for law firms of all sizes to meet the new, fast-moving opportunities of fast-changing markets for legal services — much more than just having a good partnership agreement.

Our multidisciplinary team of contributors demonstrate how governance has become a unifying and integrating system for a wide range of critical strategic and business issues. The inquiry starts with an overview of modern governance structures in law firms, and how the concept of governance has expanded to include features such as professional managers and partner remuneration systems.

To be effective, a law firm's governance system must facilitate, not complicate, the solution of important internal challenges, such as change management, managing partner performance and succession planning. How can good governance help law firm owners to make better decisions? How can governance incorporate management information and concepts of risk management into the decision-making process?

With new insights and substantially updated guidance derived from the recent developments and disruptions of the past ten years, this Second Edition, published in association with the International Bar Association, concludes with an examination of emerging trends that will shape law firm governance in the future. It provides visionary, but entirely realistic, insights into how law firm governance will need to continue to adapt to new regulatory regimes for the legal profession, stress testing concepts and new alternative business structures.