by Bruce | July 25, 2005 | Articles, Compensation, Finance, Just Plain Interesting, Leadership, Strategy
Here are three rankings of top firms, all published this month. Any ideas on which is what? Ranking A Firm Ranking B Firm Ranking C Firm 1 Wachtell 1 Cravath 1 Wachtel 2 Cahill Gordon 2 Wachtel 2 Cravath 3 Sullivan & Cromwell 3 Sullivan & Cromwell 3...
by Bruce | July 25, 2005 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Practice Group Management, Strategy
How do you make decisions? By that I mean, when facing a material strategic (a/k/a “big”) decision, who do you involve and what is the process you use to decide? (Don’t pretend to blanche at the word “process”—lawyers are all about...
by Bruce | July 24, 2005 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
Why are law firms partnerships? After all, across the rest of the economy, corporations are more than dominant; they own the landscape. Ever seen a trucking company, a retail chain, or even your friendly local locksmith shop organized as a partnership? ...
by Bruce | July 22, 2005 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Just Plain Interesting, Strategy
It takes little discernment to conclude that "Adam Smith, Esq." could be more appropriately subtitled "…an inquiry into the economics of [Big] law firms."* Not only would this conclusion be correct, but since I know for a fact that you,...
by Bruce | July 21, 2005 | Articles, Compensation, Finance, Leadership, Practice Group Management, Strategy, Technology strategy
Can you say what an incremental dollar of revenue will contribute to profit at your firm? Does it matter if that marginal dollar comes from an existing client or a new client, or which practice group generates it? More pointedly, not all business is good...
by Bruce | July 20, 2005 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Strategy
Wilmer Cutler, in conjunction with Harvard Business School, and Chicago’s Seyfarth Show, with Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, have now followed Reed Smith and DLA Piper in initiating formal long-term collaborative efforts to train their...