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Is the American Legal Profession a Guild?

by Bruce | February 22, 2024 | About the Site, Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Ineffable, Just Plain Interesting, Partnership Structures, Strategy

This is one in our occasional series of excerpts from my yet-to-be-published new book, treating, among other things, the historic roots of our profession tracing back to medieval guilds. I hope you enjoy, and, more importantly, that you provide any feedback,...

Three Cheers for Black Box Comp

by Bruce | February 1, 2024 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy, Technology strategy

When it comes to partner pay, the first thing everyone salaciously wants to know is “how high is up?”  And second by a nose is probably “Who’s on top and by how much, especially compared to me?” Please, people, we can do better than this. (You have to admit it sounds...

Who Needs To Be Listening To Your Clients? You do.

by Bruce | January 17, 2024 | Articles, Branding, Client Relationships, Cultural Considerations, Marketing, Practice Group Management

The following column is by Janet Stanton, Partner, Adam Smith, Esq. For unfathomable reasons many law firms and lawyers eschew client feedback. The reason we’re baffled by this is that at its most basic, the business of law firms is to serve client’s needs.  Let me...

The Associate Salary Wars Yet Again

by Bruce | December 18, 2023 | About the Site, Articles, Business Models, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Recruiting

“Cravath To A Million Squillion!” Sorry, but we’ve seen this dance so many times before that, you have to admit, we all know the script by heart.  Cravath (or other blue chip firm [insert here]) bumps up associates’ salaries across the board by an average of...

RIP Stroock (1876–2023)

by Bruce | November 16, 2023 | About the Site, Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, NewLaw, Practice Group Management, Strategy

Irish BIshop George Berkeley (1685–1753) famously asked, “if a tree falls in the forest and no one is present to hear it, would there be a sound?”  His notion is neither as cutesy nor as vexed as it might strike you, but a snappy and memorable...

The Economics of Superstars

by Bruce | October 5, 2023 | Articles, Business Models, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Partnership Structures, Strategy

“Ripped from the headlines,” as the cliche-inclined might say, we have this from The American Lawyer in the past week or so:  Elite Firms Revisit Comp Formulas as Star Talent Has ‘Extraordinary Leverage’   Some highlights: According to Kent Zimmerman over...
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