by Bruce | May 4, 2005 | Adam Smith Himself, Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership
Pro bono work, services or cash donated to legal aid, and charitable contributions by law firms in general have received scant attention at "Adam Smith, Esq.", a shortcoming I hereby resolve to remedy, if for no other reason than that the actual Adam Smith...
by Bruce | May 2, 2005 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
How is leadership related to management? According to the Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge magazine, not at all. Let’s start with what makes a great manager: They grasp what is the essential strength of each person and...
by Bruce | April 30, 2005 | About the Site, Articles, Finance, Globalization, Leadership
Last night my friends at ALM Media alerted members of the "Law.com Legal Bloggers’ Network"—that would include yours truly—that they will be pre-releasing the famous AmLaw 100 listing for 2005 on Tuesday, June 28th; it will not officially...
by Bruce | April 27, 2005 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Strategy
In "Face Time," Business Week probes the irrationality of all of our insecurities about failing to show sufficient of same—that is to say, our fears of what will happen if we’re not in the office at all hours. (This is a two-way street, by...
by Bruce | April 26, 2005 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Strategy
Thought experiment: Your firm needs a new CFO, and you’ve winnowed the search down to three candidates: one who aced the CPA exam and has a degree in accounting from a blue-chip school but has never worked in a law firm; one who is reasonably smart and an...
by Bruce | April 24, 2005 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Strategy, Technology strategy
A recurrent (and painful, at least to judge from readers’ emails) issue in complex law firms, as in other far-flung businesses, is a chronic disconnect between what management thinks IT should provide and IT’s ability or willingness to do so. From...