Michael Roch is the founder and principal advisor of MHPR Advisors, where he advises managing partners, boards, and remuneration committees on partner compensation and governance. For more than 25 years, he has worked with law firm leaders across Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States, as well as with accounting, consulting, and other professional partnerships. Originally trained as both an accountant and a lawyer, Michael brings a cross-disciplinary perspective to questions involving compensation, governance, finance, and tax. He is the co-author of The Partner Remuneration Handbook and co-leads a long-running global survey tracking how partners are paid across markets. Based in Zurich, Michael serves clients worldwide.
WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS EPISODE ABOUT PARTNER COMPENSATION AND LAW FIRM STRATEGY
Law firm leaders often believe their compensation system reflects what they are trying to build. Yet the way partners are paid may still reward them for holding tightly to client relationships, prioritizing their own originations, and resisting the collaboration the partnership says it values. As the business grows across offices and practice areas, those old approaches can become increasingly disconnected from where the firm is going.
Michael Roch explains that this often happens because partnerships fail to update compensation systems developed when they were much smaller. Changing the system requires leaders to be clear about what the business is trying to achieve and willing to let go of old paradigms that no longer support that direction. It also requires a closer look at what the partnership actually rewards, how partner contributions are evaluated, and whether the decision-making process reinforces the strategy or works against it.
In this episode of The Lawyer's Edge Podcast, Elise Holtzman talks with Michael Roch of MHPR Advisors about why compensation systems fall behind as firms grow, how origination credit can create conflict around client relationships, what firms should consider when compensating managing partners and other leaders, and why money is only one of the tools law firm leaders can use to influence behavior and retain talent.
3:45 - The three elements that shape a partner compensation system
5:20 - Why compensation systems fall behind as firms grow
10:19 - What a firm's compensation system reveals about its real values
14:58 - Why annual compensation memos cannot replace ongoing performance dialogue
20:13 - Origination credit, collaboration, and control of client relationships
24:23 - Putting rules and governance around origination disputes
28:38 - How firms should compensate managing partners and practice group leaders
35:16 - Why paying more rarely solves a retention problem
38:21 - The leadership responsibility partners have to associates and counsel
40:08 - Why reward involves more than compensation
Mentioned In How Partner Compensation Can Undermine Your Firm's Strategy
MHPR Advisors | LinkedIn
Michael Roch on LinkedIn
The Partner Remuneration Handbook by Michael Roch and Ray D'Cruz
SmarterReward™
Dr. Heidi Gardner | How Law Firms Can Increase Revenues, Grow Client Loyalty, and Improve Diversity
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