Midsize law firms play a vital role in the legal ecosystem. They serve Main Street businesses and midmarket companies that drive the economy. Like their BigLaw counterparts, they deliver sophisticated legal expertise, but often at an hourly rate accessible to budget-conscious clients. They may also have more flexibility to take on smaller, less glamorous matters that larger firms may overlook. Yet despite their importance and agility, midsize firms increasingly find themselves squeezed between rising demands and unforgiving economics.
The Operational Squeeze
Like their larger counterparts, midsize firms require a sophisticated operational backbone, but without the scale or revenue to absorb the costs. In many cases, the individuals running operations today are the same people who supported the firm when it had only a handful of attorneys. While loyal and experienced, many lack the advanced skill sets needed to manage the financial, technological, and compliance demands of a modern midsize firm.
Rising Demands, Limited Pricing Power
Yet the need remains: skilled financial and HR leadership, advanced cybersecurity and AI capabilities, and modern systems for compliance, benefits, and knowledge management. At the same time, with fewer institutional clients and less leverage over vendors, midsize firms tend to raise their rates more cautiously, limiting their ability to offset costs as quickly as larger competitors. This imbalance strikes at the heart of law firm economics. Without intervention, midsize firms risk eroding the very metric their partners watch most closely: profit per equity partner. Some firms have already been pulled under in this “squeezed middle,” and others risk the same fate if they cannot adapt.
Navigating the Narrow Strait
Much like Odysseus navigating between Scylla and Charybdis, two monsters on either side of a narrow strait, midsize firms must steer carefully in a tightening channel. On one side looms the danger of bloated BigLaw-style overheads that can swallow profitability, and on the other, the whirlpool of underinvestment in financial leadership, technology, and infrastructure that can drag a firm into obsolescence. The passage is narrow, and history has shown that many firms have already foundered in these waters. Survival requires more than agility. It demands discipline and the right kind of leadership support against constant pressure to do more with less.
Managing Partner Overload
Client expectations are rising fast. Many corporate clients now operate on sophisticated systems, data platforms, and AI, and they expect their law firms to keep pace. For midsize firms, this often falls squarely on the shoulders of the managing partner, who, in addition to practicing law and leading the firm, may also find themselves moonlighting as CFO, COO, or even head of HR. Few managing partners have the training or bandwidth for these roles, yet the demands keep mounting.
The BigLaw Talent Gap
The challenge is real. Overspend on infrastructure and partner profits collapse; underspend, and the firm slips behind competitors who are modernizing faster. Even when firms recognize the need to professionalize operations, recruiting BigLaw-level talent is simply out of reach. Salaries for top executives now exceed $1 million, placing them well beyond what most midsize firms can sustain. As a result, many firms remain stuck with outdated systems and overstretched leaders, even as the need for seasoned CFOs, COOs, and technology executives grows more urgent.
The Case for Fractional Executives
The need for world-class leadership is undeniable, but the economics simply don’t add up. That is why an increasing number of firms are turning to seasoned fractional CFOs and COOs who deliver the same caliber of expertise as BigLaw, at a fraction of the cost, and are already seeing measurable results. A fractional CFO working at 50% capacity can tighten WIP and AR management, accelerate collections, and sharpen pricing strategy, directly boosting profit per equity partner.
Fractional executives don’t just keep firms from being pulled under; they also put BigLaw-level financial and operational talent within reach. For many midsize firms, this is the first time they can access the kind of leadership that elevates partner profitability, sharpens strategy, and positions them for growth they could not achieve alone.
A Growing Best Practice
Fractional executives are not an experiment. Many law firms are already finding success with this model, where they are saving money while strengthening operations. The approach is also well established across healthcare, private equity, accounting, and technology. In fact, many of the same corporate clients midsize firms serve already rely on fractional leadership, making it both familiar and credible. For law firms, fractional staffing is no longer a leap into the unknown; it is a growing best practice that delivers world-class talent without BigLaw costs.
From Lifeline to Launchpad
In conclusion, midsize firms deserve big thinking, not big bills. To thrive in today’s environment, managing partners and law firm executives must rethink how they structure and support their organizations. By embracing right-sized solutions, like fractional executives who bring BigLaw expertise without BigLaw overhead, midsize law firms can steer safely between the dangers of bloated costs and underinvestment. Fractional executives provide more than a lifeline; they offer a launchpad. By putting BigLaw-caliber talent within reach, firms can elevate financial discipline, sharpen operations, and unlock growth that once seemed out of reach. The choice is clear: adapt now with fractional leadership or risk being left behind.
All of the views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of The National Law Review.