by Bruce | October 8, 2026 | Articles, Branding, Compensation, Finance, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
This column is by Janet Stanton, Partner, Adam Smith, Esq. We generally eschew commenting on daily comings-and-goings in Law Land. We make an exception here, because this is actually huge news. I’m speaking about Kirkland’s decision to stop disclosing financial info...
by Bruce | September 23, 2026 | About the Site, Articles, Business Models, Finance, Partnership Structures, Strategy
Many thanks to our good friends at Bloomberg Law for asking me in to chat about the economic and revenue/profit function of leverage in BigLaw. Take a look!
by Bruce | September 15, 2026 | Articles, Business Models, Client Relationships, Cultural Considerations, Generative AI, Leadership, Strategy, Technology strategy
David Morley, former head of Allen & Overy and, happy disclosure, a long-time friend, just published an article over at law.com that starts like this: The call usually comes on a Friday afternoon. A star partner has an offer from a rival: an eight-figure...
by Bruce | September 3, 2026 | Articles, Branding, Business Models, Cultural Considerations, Law Schools, Recruiting
The following article is by Janet Stanton, Partner, Adam Smith, Esq. LLC. Our industry is awash with really smart people. You kinda have to be to get into and through a top law school. Then, why is there such a paucity of creative thinking in Law Land? After...
by Bruce | August 25, 2026 | Articles, Business Models, Cultural Considerations, Generative AI, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
A little while ago I was interviewed by Niraj Chhabra of Sidebar Advisors. He publishes a podcast and here’s a link to my conversation with him. He also shared alternative platforms where you can find our conversation in case you are more comfortable with one of...
by Bruce | August 16, 2026 | Articles, Branding, Business Models, Client Relationships, Generative AI, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
Back in 2019 we published a three-part series introducing and fleshing out our model of the competitive market segmentation of law firms. We posited that the two primary segments of BigLaw are the “maroons,” go-to firms for bet-the-company matters garnering...
by Bruce | July 28, 2026 | Articles, Business Models, Generative AI, Strategy, Technology strategy
About a month ago, Steven Croley, Chief Policy Officer and GC at Ford Motor–who, full disclosure, I do not know–published a column on Bloomberg Law opening with the commonplace observation that AI is disrupting the legal services market for large public...
by Bruce | July 17, 2026 | Adam Smith Himself, Articles
Although “birth certificates” were far in the future in 1723, today is by consensus deemed to be Adam Smith’s birthday, in 1723, in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. Today he would be 303.
by Bruce | July 9, 2026 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Leadership
You should not be surprised to learn that in my travels across the legal, business, and strategic commentariat, I form opinions–some probably too quickly or too definitively–about the quality of what I’m reading. As an exercise that began as casual...
by Bruce | July 4, 2026 | Articles, Ineffable
The Constitution of the United States Article I, Section 1: All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States Article II, Section 1: The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. Article III,...
