search.noResults

search.searching

note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
SMALL PRIVATE COMPANIES Mike D. Griffi n, Tucker Griffi n Barnes PC, Charlottesville


‘Finance guy’ helps lawyers understand the bottom line


by Joan Tupponce E


veryone at the Charlottesville-based law firm Tucker Griffin Barnes PC knows Mike Griffin’s favorite


saying: “It’s each attorney’s job to fight for justice; it’s my job to keep everyone focused on generating profits.” “I’m the finance guy, and that’s my


number one priority,” Griffin says. “I have to keep lawyers focused on the fact that it’s a business as well. Most attorneys don’t come out of law school knowing how to run a business. They come out knowing how to be an attorney. I spend a lot of my time helping the attorneys understand the business side of their law practice.” The law firm’s president, William D.


Tucker III, sees the inability to manage profit as the biggest problem facing law firms today. “Law firms have been consumed


with the billable hour,” he says. “Due to Mike’s insight on law-firm business models, profitability ratios, his ability to create consensus among firm partners and his unique experience, our firm is now structured around layers of profit-and-loss statements.” Since joining the firm in 2003, Griffin


has created P&L statements for the overall firm and each branch (in addition to Char- lottesville, it has offices in Harrisonburg and Palmyra), department and attorney. The result has been a significant increase in profitability at all levels. “Mike has brought it to a point where


lawyers understand the business of a law practice,” Tucker says, noting that Griffin’s wife, Yvonne, is one of the firm’s senior partners. Griffin enjoys working with business


models. “I put together a series of manage- ment reports that we call dashboards to assess where the company stands so the partners can make decisions very quickly about finance,” he says. One of the Georgia native’s strengths


Photo by Mark Rhodes


is his even-keel demeanor, Tucker says. “He handles problems without a lot of stress,” says the law firm president. “Mike’s defini- tion of chaos is the area that lies between the task required and the level of experi- ence available. He is constantly training and updating office protocols with attor- neys and staff. He is focused on reducing complexity and that has reduced chaos.” The firm has benefited from Griffin’s


20-plus years as an Army finance officer. “You would be surprised how much of the Army finance skill set you can bring to the business world,” he says. “In the military you learn how to manage chaos because you could find yourself in a fluid situation. You have to make a lot of decisions under pressure. There is a lot of room for misun- derstanding ... We had to learn to manage chaos there for the unit and move in the right direction.” Since joining the law firm 13 years


ago, Griffin has instituted a rolling strategic planning process. Every month the firm’s partners meet and talk about strategy. “He is really good at creating a strategic plan for the firm,” Tucker says. “He is planning for the future.” Bryan Thomas, senior vice president


and market president for BB&T in the Charlottesville area, appreciates Griffin’s ability to foresee the firm’s needs. “He has always been quick to ask when


he needs help,” he says. “He will say, “We have this situation. How can we address it?’ Then we come up with a solution.” Griffin also helped develop a policy


allowing mothers employed by the firm to bring their babies to work after their maternity leave ends. “We are not the typi- cal high-pressure law firm. We are more relaxed,” says Tucker. The babies-in-the-workplace policy


was highlighted on NBC’s “Today Show.” “It made our law firm a better place to work,” Tucker says. “It was a great addition.”


www.VirginiaBusiness.com VIRGINIA BUSINESS 83


“You would be surprised how much of the Army fi nance skill set you can bring to the business world,” Griffi n says.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104