It seems that while we were looking the other way, these past few decades, law and accounting firms have gotten more complex. In the old days, it was simple. A managing partner, an executive committee, and maybe a bookkeeper were all you needed to run a small or medium sized firm. As firms grew (see my new book, Professional Services Marketing 3.0 http://bit.ly/MarcusBook, out late July 2011), the management needs grew more complex. Larger firms began hiring professional managers – MBA people, or, in some cases, the partner from the accounting firm who had worked with them. It made a difference.

But for the medium or smaller firm, the management problems proliferated beyond the ability of the existing staff or partnership to manage or cope. To put it bluntly, things that should have gotten done, didn’t.

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