by Bruce | June 20, 2023 | Articles, Branding, Business Models, Client Relationships, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Recruiting, Strategic Client Management, Strategy
Something that feels structurally different seems to have developed in the lateral market. The ambition of this essay is to describe what we think it is, why it has developed, and what it portends for the future of BigLaw. Plus, with any luck, some ideas or at least...
by Bruce | May 23, 2023 | Articles, Business Models, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Practice Group Management, Recruiting, Strategic Client Management, Strategy
The first truly evil character to appear in Scripture is of course the Snake in the Garden of Good and Evil. Not a nice guy, not someone you’d want to emulate, not a role model: The Snake of all Snakes at the coulda-been Eternal Garden Party, harbinger of bad...
by Bruce | April 13, 2023 | Articles, Business Models, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Just Plain Interesting, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy, Technology strategy
Jamie Dimon’s annual letter to shareholders, which comes out as part of the JP Morgan Chase annual report, was published about two weeks ago. At 42 pages, it takes more than a passing skim-over to digest, but. It is almost universally read among business leaders, and...
by Bruce | January 4, 2023 | Articles, Business Models, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy
“Transparency!” is a far more clarion call to arms than “Opacity.” And as a securities lawyer, I was trained–and didn’t take much convincing, truth be told–that full disclosure was a not so minor deity. Yet here I am...
by Bruce | December 12, 2022 | Articles, Business Models, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Strategy
Remember these? We made it customary here at Adam Smith, Esq. to publish a “Letter from….” after our return from any meaningful business trip to noteworthy cities. And, thankfully, here we are. When you’ce been away from anything–a Great...
by Bruce | November 18, 2022 | About the Site, Articles, Business Models, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Partnership Structures, Recruiting
This article is by Janet Stanton, Partner, Adam Smith, Esq. Recently, we had the good fortune to work with our great friends at Above the Law on a project to delve into the current associate mindset. As with the recent midterm elections, the results were not what the...
