by Bruce | October 2, 2012 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Strategy
Now well on our way into the Growth is Dead series, it’s only fair to offer up what we hope are some constructive ideas on how to deal with this phenomenon going forward. But first, a quick recap of some of the things we’ve touched upon: From more or less...
by Bruce | September 20, 2012 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Strategy
For some time, I’ve been struggling with how to characterize in pithy short-hand what our industry has been experiencing since almost four years ago to the day when Lehman Bros. collapsed. How about Economy I and Economy II? I steal the phrase from the...
by Bruce | September 16, 2012 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
Our third installment in this series addresses partner expectations. Here’s the problem: There’s about to be a collision with reality. Let’s start with some data. In the quarter century since the The American Lawyer first published the AmLaw 100,...
by Bruce | July 31, 2012 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Leadership, Partnership Structures
Last week we published a column noting that today “discussion of incentives often begins from the false belief that only cash can influence behavior.” This remark—the heart of the piece in as few words as possible—prompted a regular reader to offer a...
by Bruce | July 25, 2012 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Partnership Structures
ITN (a British-based independent news service) recently published a poll finding trust in the financial sector is at an all-time low, with just 10% of respondents believing bankers tell the truth. This puts bankers even lower than journalists and politicians. Yet if...
by Bruce | July 9, 2012 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Innovative Managing Partners, Leadership, Strategy
Let me line up side by side for you some very current perspectives on the larger issues facing BigLaw. The impressively thoughtful (and articulate) Dr.. George Beaton wrote less than a month ago, in Without re-invention firms’ profits will plunge in line with...