Adam Smith, Esq.
  • Our Team
  • Services
  • Articles
  • Clients
  • Contact
Select Page

Who’s Your Firm’s Real Client?

by Bruce | November 5, 2018 | Articles, Business Models, Client Relationships, Cultural Considerations, Leadership, Practice Group Management, Strategy

There is only one valid definition of a business purpose: to create a customer. –Peter Drucker, The Practice of Management (New York,: Harper, 1st ed. 1954); Routledge, 2012, at p. 37 Urban legend has it that a Harvard Business School professor (who is never...

Is Your Firm Playing to Win, or Not to Lose?

by Bruce | October 7, 2018 | Articles, Client Relationships, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Practice Group Management, Strategy

Recent conversation with a veteran friend in the industry.  He had correctly deduced from a recent column in these pages that I’m (re-)reading the all-time strategy classic Playing to Win by A.G. Lafley and Roger Martin (Harvard Business Review Press: 2013) and...

Who’s in Your Competitive Set?

by Bruce | August 14, 2018 | Articles, Branding, Business Models, Client Relationships, Finance, Leadership, Marketing, Strategy, Technology strategy

We often ask law firms, “Who’s your competition?”  The single most frequent response we get is, “Well, no one, really.” This is delusion on stilts. Every business, I would venture to extend that to any human organization, has competition,...

Reflections of a GC

by Bruce | December 26, 2017 | Articles, Client Relationships, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Practice Group Management, Strategy

In the spirit of generosity, which I hope is an active presence in your life but which is conspicuously abroad at this time of year, a regular reader granted me permission to share some of his reflections prompted by the recent column, “The End of...

Litigation Boutiques Have Issues, Too

by Bruce | October 24, 2017 | Articles, Business Models, Client Relationships, Finance, Leadership, Practice Group Management, Strategy

Over the past year or two, we’ve been working with what struck us as a high number of litigation boutiques, and we decided to pause and gather our thoughts for, we can always hope, the benefit of a wider audience. Semantics first:  By “litigation boutique,” if it’s...

Question of the Month #3–Best Measure of Law Firm Performance: Report & Commentary

by Bruce | August 31, 2017 | Articles, Client Relationships, Finance, Leadership, Question of the Month

Question of the Month #3 was, “What is the best measure of law firm performance?”  This column is by Janet Stanton, Partner, Adam Smith, Esq. This question is gaining currency in our industry, with it being asked with greater frequency and not a few...
« Older Entries
Next Entries »

Categories

  • About the Site
  • Adam Smith Himself
  • Articles
  • Book Reviews
  • Branding
  • Build Back Better
  • Business Models
  • Client Relationships
  • Compensation
  • Cultural Considerations
  • Finance
  • Generative AI
  • Globalization
  • Ineffable
  • Innovative Managing Partners
  • Just Plain Interesting
  • Knowledge Management
  • Latin America
  • Law Schools
  • Leadership
  • M&A
  • Marketing
  • NewLaw
  • Partnership Structures
  • Practice Group Management
  • Profiles of Individuals
  • Publications
  • Question of the Month
  • Recruiting
  • Strategic Client Management
  • Strategy
  • Technology strategy

Publications

Adam Smith, Esq. Library Book Covers

available now on Amazon +

Contact

Bruce MacEwen, President
Email
direct: +1.212.866.4800
New York

Janet Stanton, Partner
Email
direct: +1.212.866.4270
New York

Sign-up for email

Be the first to learn of
Adam Smith, Esq. invitation-only events, surveys, and reports.

join now +
Privacy Policy / Entire site © Copyright 2003 – 2026 Adam Smith, Esq., LLC, New York, New York, US. All rights reserved. “Adam Smith, Esq. …an inquiry into the economics of law firms”® is a federally registered trademark.
Adam Smith, Esq.