Scale Matters

In the past we have written that for law firms scale—number of partners and total lawyers, number of offices, total revenue, &c.—doesn’t really matter.  The distinctions that clients care about center around specific domain/practice area expertise, track record, a... read more +

Collaborate Or Die

Building a genuinely trusting, collaborative, integrated culture—where one does not exist—is among the tallest of orders that a firm can face.  Since control over clients is such a key source of power, client-hogging and the individualistic behavior...

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Merger Fever? Do Your Homework

While skeptical of mergers (see below), I'm also of the view that "chance favors the prepared," and that: having a clearly articulated and fundamentally sound strategy going in; recognizing and confronting with clear-eyed vision the issues surrounding...

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Henry Kravitz on Line One?

Is there anything interesting to be said of the potential Pillsbury/Shaw-Pittman merger?  Regular readers will know that I approach mergers with a jaundiced eye, given their frankly embarrassing track record of destroying rather than creating value in...

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Eat Your Spinach

More on Marketing 101 for lawyers:  Do you know how to work a room?  Are you comfortable delivering an elevator pitch about what you do for your clients?  Both these articles cover the basics in reassuring, albeit non-negotiable, terms.  For...

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Natural Born Pitch-Men?

You would think lawyers should be natural-born pitch-men.  Trained to present their case orally and on the page, taught to analytically arrive at the heart of the matter, peeling away dross and marginalia, understanding the appeal of a simple story with a strong...

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