Indiana University School
of Law at Bloomington—where my good friend Prof.
William Henderson teaches—will be hosting a symposium
on "The Globalization of the Legal Profession" Friday,
April 6, 2006. I’m pleased to report that I will be one
of the panelists.
On the
agenda:
- Law Firm Strategy in a global world, including "What management
structures are necessary to govern a global law firm with
offices on multiple
continents?" - Relevance of Geography, including "Are some locations,
based on
longitudinal growth patterns, emerging as truly international
legal cities for firms attempting
to fit the transnational model?" Or, phrased differently,
why are more firms hoisting their flag in New York, London,
and Hong Kong, despite those cities’ having among the highest
operating cost structures on the planet? - Convergence, including: "Can transnational
law firms successfully balance the competing goals of higher
profitability and
professional autonomy? To what extent is the practice of
law, and identity of lawyers, converging
around certain practices and values? If so, are those practices/values
those characteristic of the US
legal profession?
The conference will be
in a somewhat hybrid format, blending the academic with the
practical and hands-on, and all papers and presentations will
subsequently be published.
If anyone is interested in attending, please email me; I can testify
that hospitality at the Law School is of the highest order.
