ROSEVILLE, CA—Law firms may bristle at the idea of beingcompared to chain restaurants or multi-location retailers, butrestructuring expert Jim Haslem thinks the legalprofession can draw a number of lessons—and operating principles interms of their office space. “There are differences,” Haslem, aprincipal with Huntley, Mullaney, Spargo &Sullivan here, tells GlobeSt.com. “But law firms areselling services at retail, so the discipline and the systems thatmulti-unit restaurants and retailers routinely use are alsoapplicable to law firms.” That being said, he adds, “I've seen thatlaw firms are less disciplined in terms of how they manage theirmultiple locations.”

That less-disciplined approach may extend to where and when toopen multiple locations, says Haslem. “When things are good, lawfirms are inclined to open an office in, say, Phoenix, and youwonder what were the metrics in supporting that decision, what werethe metrics in negotiating the lease,” he says. Just as important,he adds, are “the metrics you used in determining the efficiency ofthat office, and whether the lease should be renewed, renegotiatedor allowed to lapse and have the firm relocate or engage thelandlord in negotiation leading to termination of the lease.”

These are the kinds of decisions multi-location retailers makeall the time, in order to maximize the profitability not only foreach location but also for the entire portfolio. “That should be aregular part of the business routine,” Haslem says. While some lawfirms may be doing this already, “historically, they have not.”