I’m at USC Law School speaking in a course entitled The Evolution of Large Law Firms: Effects of the Storm, taught by Adjunct Professor Bry Danner, former partner at Latham & Watkins and General Counsel at Edison International. I’ve known Bry for a few years.
Here’s what the course is about:
Will firms actually create a new business model, or simply revert to their former ways once the downturn changes direction? To answer these questions, Danner provided students with some background in economics and the recent history of law firm strategies during the first installment of the series, “Framing the Questions,” on Sept. 21. In the second installment, “Search for Answers (part one),” held Sept. 30, Danner welcomed Michael Roster, former General Counsel at Golden West Financial and Stanford University and steering committee chair of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s (ACC) “Value Challenge” initiative. Roster also is a former managing partner at Morrison & Foerster in L.A
The description for “my” session of the course notes:
The third installment of the speaker series, Oct. 14, features a discussion with Bruce MacEwen, a lawyer and consultant to law firms on strategic and economic issues, and founder and editor of the “Adam Smith, Esq.” website. Included in this session will be a Danner-vs.-MacEwen debate on which ultimate outcome from the current recession (a major change of direction or just a minor detour in the evolution of the law firms) would be best for today’s law students.
Through a coin toss, I was chosen to argue the “major change of direction” side of the debate and while I hesitate to attribute the resulting student vote to my advocacy skills, a clear majority seemed to agree that a major change would be better for their careers than a minor detour.
I fly up to Portland, Oregon tomorrow for a mix of business and pleasure; back in New York early next week.
