Finance Track

Profitability – Taking on the Challenges Ahead
10:05 – 11:05 a.m.
John Fitzgerald and Jonathan San Solo

The pandemic accelerated a wave of change that continues to sweep across the legal profession – presenting challenges to profitability.  Join John Fitzgerald, CPA, Executive Partner and Law Firm Services Practice Leader and Jonathan San Solo, CPA, Senior Manager of Berdon LLP for an in-depth review of key factors impacting revenue, including rising insurance rates, mounting IT costs to combat cyberattack, and the still evolving tax situation (Pass-through entity tax and T&E write-offs). We will also examine critical management issues such as fee structuring, the health of accounts receivables, a hybrid work environment, reduced space and office redesign, and opportunities for rent concessions.

CLM® Application Credit for Functional Specialists: 1 hr (60 min) in the category of Financial Management OR CLM® Recertification Credit: 1 hr (60 min) in the Subject Area of Financial Management.


John Fitzgerald, Audit Partner, member of the Executive Committee, and Leader of the Law Firm Services Practice at Berdon LLP, has been with the firm since 1991. John is one of the firm’s key advisors to law practices and also works with closely held businesses in the real estate, hospitality, distribution, and manufacturing sectors. He consults on maximizing opportunities in purchases, sales, and acquisitions; obtaining financing and refinancing; preserving and transferring wealth; and on improving operations.

John is active in the firm’s education committee, training younger professionals and staff in essential audit and professional development skills.

John has authored articles on law firm management issues for ALA Currents, a newsletter of the Association of Legal Administrators; Bloomberg BNA; Legal Management magazine; and Nassau Lawyer. His insights on law firm accounting appeared in The American Lawyer and he was featured in Long Island Business News’ Accounting Ones to Watch section. He was interviewed by Crain’s New York Business on helping clients control costs and adopt new technologies. John is the chief contributor to the Berdon law firm newsletter Practice Made Perfect and has spoken on attorney compensation on the Berdon video series 2MinutesOn.

As a New York Law Journal panelist, John has also lent his insights to attorneys and firm administrators on key issues facing law practices.

EDUCATION AND LICENSES

John graduated from the University of Albany with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. He was licensed as a certified public accountant in New York in 1994.

Jonathan San Solo is an Audit Manager at Berdon LLP with 10 years of professional experience in roles of increasing responsibility. Jonathan provides accounting, audit, and tax consulting services and advises clients across an array of business sectors, including legal and real estate. 

His experience extends to areas that include:

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ACTIVITIES
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants
Urban Law Institute

EDUCATION AND LICENSES
Jonathan earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Yeshiva University. He is licensed as a certified public accountant in New York State.

Is Your Firm Breaking the Law – Current Issues of the Remote Workforce!
11:15 a.m. – 12: 15 p.m.
Steven Lando

Planning Ahead: With a Remote Work Environment, How Will the New Pass-Through Entity (“PTE”)  Regimes Impact Your Firm?

Today’s remote workforce has brought on a new set of challenges for law firms throughout the U.S. as their workforce is composed of both existing pre-Pandemic employees and new remote hires. As efforts increase to retain staff and attract laterals, we’ve learned that work can be done remotely relatively seamlessly, while creating compliance and business burdens for both the C-suite and owners of the firm. As we begin to transition out of the Pandemic to a hybrid model, the tax landscape is changing for firms whose employees are still working on a remote basis. The discussion will focus on what you need to know going forward to make the informed decisions to manage firm risk. Additionally, since the IRS November 2020 guidance, the PTE tax regime is sweeping the nation with some 20 states having enacted or proposed PTE legislation and more expected. As many states rushed legislation and still need to issue guidance, we will discuss the unknowns you need to know to make decisions and manage income/cash flow allocations going forward particularly in the age of the remote workforce.

CLM® Application Credit for Functional Specialists: 1 hr (60 min) in the category of Financial Management OR CLM® Recertification Credit: 1 hr (60 min) in the Subject Area of Financial Management.

Steve Lando is a Partner and Tax Practice Leader of Anchin’s  Services Group. He is a founding member of the Law Firms Group and has over 30 years of experience working in the industry. His expertise is in the areas of tax and strategic planning, specializing in income tax planning including augmented partner pension plans, compliance for federal, international & a heavy focus on state & local taxes (SALT) along with estate and wealth preservation planning. His practice consists of law firms and attorneys, high net worth families, and a diverse group of business enterprises including public relations, media & advertising firms, hedge funds, acquisition companies, technology businesses, real estate owners and developers throughout the United States and in various countries.

Cost Containment
2:10 – 3:10 p.m.
Anthony Millaci and Barry Jackson

The Wizard behind the mysterious curtain is revealed!

Anthony Millaci, President of CostMarc and Barry Jackson, CEO & President of IMPACT Legal Resources will be the panel for this Benefits Reduction Topic.  Do you shake your head each year when you receive the health insurance premium increase and wonder what to do?  Anthony and Barry successfully worked on cost cutting on numerous occasions when Barry was an Executive Director.  Please join us to find out what they did and where the markets are now.  You will gain insight from the perspective of a business partner and a law firm insider collaborating to obtain impressive results.  There are solutions that you may not have thought of.

Topics covered are:

CLM® Application Credit for Functional Specialists: 1 hr (60 min) in the category of Financial Management OR CLM® Recertification Credit: 1 hr (60 min) in the Subject Area of Financial Management.


Anthony Millaci, CEO of CostMarc has focused on driving profits for his clients for over 30 years by leveraging technology, analytics and relationships. His primary focus has been working closely with Law Firm Leadership, by supplying the tools and subject matter expertise necessary to uncover Dormant Profit. We turn cost centers into profit centers.

CostMarc is proud to have worked with firms of all sizes including many of the AM Law 100. Our approach is holistic and provides long-term sustainable (economically and environmentally) solutions for the legal industry and beyond.

Utilizing our subject matter expertise, we analyze expense categories where savings is just the start. We leverage Digital Transformation, which not only leads to cost-savings and efficiency, but also allows for optimization by way of automating processes and managing performance. Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn to start transforming your law firm expenses from a cost center to a profit center.

Barry Jackson is the CEO & President of IMPACT Legal Resources and places both attorneys and legal staff with law firms.  IMPACT also provides Fractional COOs and Back Office Account services for firms who need services on a project-by-project basis.  Barry graduated cum laude from The University of Richmond with a BS in business administration. He has a distinguished resume that includes over 30 years of experience serving the legal industry as the Executive Director of Davis & Gilbert, Tannenbaum Helpern, Ravin Sarasohn and Adam Leitman Leitman Bailey.  He was the CFO at Seeger Weiss, and the Controller at Kasowitz Benson.  Barry started his career as an accountant at Price Waterhouse and spent five years at Cleary Gottlieb in accounting.  Barry Jackson was the President of the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) in 2006-2007, and also served five years on the NYSBA Legal Practices Committee. The NYSBA asked Mr. Jackson to become one of the principals of the book “Best Practices in Legal Management, A Comprehensive Guide” which was published by the NYSBA 2010.  Many ALA members, business partners and attorneys affiliated with the ALA shared responsibilities for this best-selling publication.

SEMINARS AS INSTRUCTOR

PUBLICATIONS

  1. Best Practices in Legal Management, A Comprehensive Guide, Principals, Barry Jackson and Kimberly Swetland, Published January 2010 by NYSBA.
  2. New York Law Journal, October 28, 2002 “The Art and Science of Benefits Provision”