by Bruce | March 12, 2026 | Articles, Book Reviews
Lloyd Blankfein’s Streetwise was just published and as of this writing is on Amazon’s “Top 20” bestsellers list. [Streetwise: Getting to and through Goldman Sachs, Penguin Press New York: 2026]. I just finished it. I cannot recommend it. Slow down! How dare I...
by Bruce | February 12, 2026 | About the Site, Articles, Branding, Business Models, Generative AI, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
The following is a guest post from our long-time friend and astute observer of Law Land, Alastair Morrison. –Bruce & Janet Alastair Morrison, Legal Consultant Alastair Morrison is a London-based legal consultant with extensive experience in law firm...
by Bruce | January 18, 2026 | Articles, Business Models, Generative AI, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy, Technology strategy
Law Land in general, and BigLaw in particular, has a firmly established and proud custom of not being the first. To almost anything. I say this based on personal experience, because the almost invariable response to a novel proposal is, “Who else is doing...
by Bruce | November 6, 2025 | About the Site, Branding, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Leadership, Partnership Structures
Recently Janet was invited to participate in a Bloomberg Law podcast on the topic of Ropes & Gray remaining a single-tier partnership despite the industry’s overwhelming movement towards the two-tier (equity and non-equity) partnership model. Her fellow...
by Bruce | November 4, 2025 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
Back in March we first wrote about the theretofore-inconceivable systematic attack on BigLaw by our current Administration in Washington, DC. The “program of revenge,” as we described it, calculatedly targeted law firms representing clients and interests...
by Bruce | October 1, 2025 | Articles, Business Models, Leadership, Practice Group Management, Strategy
In the most recent of what’s beginning to feel like a parade of star litigators jumping ship from BigLaw, comes word that Karen Dunn has left Paul Weiss to join a startup litigation boutique; in the first few months of its existence it’s already past two...
by Bruce | September 23, 2025 | Articles
Belatedly, some of you might opine, it is time to make an introductory contribution to the great debate about the impact of Generative AI on the practice, and more importantly the business and revenue/expense model, of BigLaw. (After all, this is Adam Smith, Esq. and...
by Bruce | August 17, 2025 | Articles, Book Reviews, Just Plain Interesting
In keeping with our tradition at Adam Smith, Esq. of publishing a summertime diversion in the form of a selective list of what we’ve been reading lately, herewith the 2025 installment: Fiction, nonfiction, and one millennia-old classic. Our hope is that you might find...
by janet stanton | August 3, 2025 | Articles, Branding, Client Relationships, Cultural Considerations, Marketing, Strategic Client Management
The following column is by Janet Stanton, Partner, Adam Smith, Esq., LLC–Bruce Firms are increasingly realizing the value of expanding relationships with their existing clients – be it involving more partners, additional practice areas, offices or other...
by Bruce | July 27, 2025 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Strategy
A few weeks ago a law land journalist asked us if we had any insights to offer about the above-average rate of expansion of law firms in a particular US metro market—which itself had been expanding at an above-market rate in business investment and population. This...
