Marketing partners and chief marketing officers gathered in Miami in January for the Marketing Partner Forum. The most popular session was about metrics — standees packed the back of the room, demonstrating firms’ desire for a firmer grasp on which metrics to watch and which to ignore.

My tablemates and I had no trouble compiling a list of two dozen metrics being measured within the law firms represented. Billable hours, non-billable hours, profitability, collections, profit margin — the list went on and on. Some seemed obviously important, other trivial. Which really matter the most?