by Bruce | October 22, 2021 | Articles, Branding, Business Models, Client Relationships, Cultural Considerations, Leadership, Marketing, Practice Group Management, Strategic Client Management, Strategy
We’ve had our corporate checking account with Bank of America for over 15 years. This is the story of why it’s no longer there. A few weeks backI got a letter in the mail from BofA and luckily did not toss it aside unopened as very-likely-spam. It...
by Bruce | October 8, 2021 | Articles, Business Models, Finance, Globalization
ALM recently released its “2021 Global 200” law firms. (The “2021” rankings reflect FY 2020 results, as is ALM’s somewhat perverse custom.) These are, by their count, the largest 200 firms in the world by revenue. They also released the “2021 Global” firms ranked...
by Bruce | July 6, 2021 | Articles, Build Back Better, Business Models, Finance, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy, Technology strategy
We’ve written at fair length about our “maroons/grays” model for segmenting the law firm industry. Essentially, the model rejects customary or traditional dimensions of “compare and contrast” including: Size (revenue or headcount) Type of firm (litigation boutique,...
by Bruce | May 24, 2021 | Articles, Business Models, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Strategy
For the armchair economists in the crowd, the geopolitically curious, or faithful leaders of law firms wondering whether they should plant a, or more, flags abroad, how would you instinctively answer that question? Does the US sell more legal services abroad than it...
by Bruce | May 6, 2021 | Articles, Build Back Better, Business Models, Finance, Leadership, Strategy
Every year around this time—earnings season for law firms—we’re fond of saying, “Averages mislead.” When the trade media report that, overall the entire industry had a great year, or the AmLaw 50/100/200 had a great year, or regional middle market players (fill in the...
by Bruce | March 29, 2021 | Articles, Build Back Better, Business Models, Finance, Leadership, Strategy, Technology strategy
Universally, everyone is hearing that firms plan to make significant cuts in real estate spend starting, well, starting as soon as the next office lease comes up for renewal. How “substantial” might those cuts be? You would think a massive and sophisticated industry...
