Mike Marget

I solve business problems for law firms.  This is currently done through 4L Law Firm Services LLC, a company founded in December 2010 to perform outsourced accounting and billing services and to provide IT/software solutions -- via the cloud -- to small and midsize law firms (i.e., 5-to-30+ lawyers). This solving-business-problems-for-law-firms thing began innocently enough.  A few years ago Arthur Andersen sent me to a 70-lawyer firm in Chicago – Katten Muchin Gitles Zavis Pearl & Galler – with instructions to “figure out what’s not working there so they will hire us to fix it.”  Eventually, the law firm hired me away from AA&Co.  I’ve been fixing things for law firms ever since. Katten Muchin made me their CFO and the firm grew to 400+ lawyers during my tenure.  After a while, I was made a partner (I'm a member of the Illinois bar), even though I logged no billable hours and rarely interacted with clients.  My job was managing the law firm.  Later I held senior management positions with four other large firms.

As time has gone by…. 4L Law Firm Services LLC – Managing Director Holland & Knight LLP – CFO 1,000 lawyers; 23 offices; $600M budget Gardner Carton & Douglas LLP – COO 250 lawyers; 4 offices Breazeale Sachse & Wilson – Managing Partner 75 lawyers; Baton Rouge & New Orleans Jenner & Block – COO 400+ lawyers; Chicago & Washington Katten Muchin – Administrative Partner firm grew from 70-to-400 lawyers during my tenure; from 1 office to 7 Arthur Andersen & Co – Chicago office University of Iowa, J.D. with high distinction Arthur Andersen & Co – Chicago office University of Notre Dame, BBA (Accounting)

Current location:  Tampa, FL

Original hometown: Sigourney, IA

Future hometown: Chicago or maybe Paris

I'm known for: 1) Bringing clarity to complex financial and strategic challenges; ideas, options and actionable solutions.  (Example:  Partners' Non-resident State Income Taxes, the board game [patent pending].)  2) Cufflinks and purple ties.  3) Excessive use of semicolons and footnotes.  4) A non-traditional sense of humor.

Current projects:  1) Building 4L Law Firm Services LLC so I’ll eventually be able to check the “$5 million to $9.9 million annual revenue” box when renewing online subscription to CFO Magazine.  2) Writing this blog.

Greatest achievements to date: 1) Christopher and his progeny.  2) Solving problems which enabled my law firms to become more efficient, more productive, easier to manage and increasingly more profitable.  3) Writing a law review article which was later plagiarized in a highly-regarded business publication, “authored” by two accounting professors -- meaning someone other than my mother actually read the thing. 

Blocks I’ve been around:  Chicago's Old Town and Wicker Park; 16^th Arrondissement.

I’m addicted to:  New York Times; NPR; a good novel; Jeanne – not necessarily in that order.

Things that really happened:  1) Declined job at Katten Muchin the first two times it was offered.  2) Filled out a high school career aptitude test repeating the pattern “C-C-C-D-E” which is the opening notes to Row, Row, Row Your Boat. 

Secret ambitions:  1) To teach.  2) Write Top 10 Lists for Letterman.

Something I hate to admit:  Can’t do math in my head.

Learn more about me and what I do:  1) Read this blog.  2) Contact me at mmarget@4L-Law.com.  3) Visit the 4L Law Firm Services LLC website at www.4L-Law.com.