Law21 Twitter Updates- Slater & Gordon/Russell Jones & Walker aims to "dominate" consumer legal services market in UK: http://t.co/6Na2ZNbR
- RT @grbeaton Slater & Gordon, Russell Jones Walker - not just another acquisition http://t.co/6Wotgv7l
- Crazy Like A Fox: Why Non-Equity Partners are More Valuable Than Associates: http://t.co/NYZAHfvQ
- It's not "lateral hiring" anymore; it's poaching: http://t.co/M43yyhOz Firms poached often enough will be in real danger.
Category Archives: Big Firms
Too many partners
Law firms, facing a formidable array of external trends and pressures, are simultaneously experiencing a series of internal shocks and shakeups. The most prominent of these is an ongoing reconsideration of the role played by each member of the firm — a process of asking, “What function do you play in this enterprise, and could [...]
Also posted in Management 6 Comments
We measure what we value
People love lists. We love the choosiness, the ordering, the nice linear way they stack up or count down. There’s a reason why every cover of Cosmopolitan includes at least one numbered list. You think Stephen Covey would be a millionaire today if he’d merely written The Habits of Highly Successful People? You think we’d [...]
Also posted in Publishing 3 Comments
Goodbye to all that
Last week, having written about the rise of online disruptors and the emergence of super-boutiques, I promised that the final entry in this de facto trilogy would identify how lawyers and law firms can ensure their profitability in this new environment. But then I spent three days at ILTA’s Rev-elation, the 2011 annual meeting of [...]
Also posted in Clients, Innovation, Technology 12 Comments
The rise of the super-boutique
Yesterday, I advanced the notion that lawyers’ profitability now depends on what they do and how they do it. One reason is disruptive internet-based providers that not only are grabbing commodity work and profiting from it, but more dangerously, are also changing the values clients associate with “good legal service” to emphasize speed, affordability and [...]
Also posted in Innovation 4 Comments
The new capitals of law
A minor parlour game for BigLaw cognoscenti is the question of which city will be the next world capital of law. New York has held the unofficial title for many years, although London made a powerful case throughout the 2000s. Down the road, who knows? Maybe Hong Kong or Shanghai, possibly New Delhi or Mumbai; [...]
Also posted in Outsourcing, Talent 2 Comments
Why do law firms exist?
What is the point of a law firm? This is neither a rhetorical nor a snarky question. I’m interested in nailing down the economic rationale for a law firm’s existence. What benefits flow to both clients and lawyers from law firms? In what ways are the buyers and sellers of legal services better off because [...]
Posted in Big Firms 12 Comments
A changing of the guard
Legal historians might look back at the spring of 2011 and judge it the time when the old law firm model began to pass away and a new one began to take its place. Specifically, they might contrast last month’s dissolution of Washington-based global firm Howrey LLP with today’s announcement by 300-lawyer Irwin Mitchell LLP [...]
Also posted in Innovation 2 Comments
Not wanted on the voyage
From the incumbent’s point of view, the only thing worse than a revolution that topples you is one that renders you irrelevant. You can mount a comeback from exile; you can’t mount a comeback from Nobody Cares. Law firms, pay close attention. We’re now less than six months away from the implementation of the Alternative [...]
Also posted in Competition 4 Comments
The stratified legal market and its implications
An extraordinary conversation has emerged among multiple authors in the blawgosphere over the past few days. It revolves around a pressing question: in light of the huge changes in the marketplace, what will become of law firms? More specifically, given the increasing segmentation and stratification of the universe of legal work, how can law firms [...]
Also posted in Clients, Innovation 14 Comments
The year of living dangerously