by Bruce | March 16, 2012 | Adam Smith Himself, Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, M&A, Partnership Structures, Strategy
Two firms have this week received far more press attention than, one suspects, they counted on or quite know how to cope with: Our own industry’s Dewey LeBoeuf, and of course the iconic (good and bad sense) Goldman Sachs. Goldman Let’s take Goldman...
by Bruce | February 16, 2012 | Articles, Finance, Leadership, Strategy
The title, “muscle memory,” I owe to Prof. Bill Henderson of Indiana/Maurer School of Law in Bloomington. Bill-and now I-use it to describe how the habits law firms learned during the boom years have carried over into the present reality, as inapt,...
by Bruce | February 13, 2012 | Articles, Finance, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
The preliminary Citi 2011 report is out and it’s time for a bit of reading between the lines. In particular, we like to focus less on what’s said than on what is studiously elided. Here’s the top line: For law firms, 2011 was a tale of two years....
by Bruce | February 2, 2012 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Strategy
The Americn Lawyer’s cover story this month is on lateral partner movement in 2011, with 2,454 partners leaving or joining AmLaw 200 firms, a 22% increase from 2010 and back to the average for the boom years of 2005 to 2009. We’re here not to emulate...
by Bruce | January 27, 2012 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, M&A, Partnership Structures, Strategy
Lots of ink has been spilled lately about how M&A activity in the legal sector has picked up. Let’s stipulate that’s true. I for one believe it to be the case, and have been involved in more conversations along those lines in the last several...
by Bruce | January 27, 2012 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, M&A, Partnership Structures, Strategy
Lots of ink has been spilled lately about how M&A activity in the legal sector has picked up. Let’s stipulate that’s true. I for one believe it to be the case, and have been involved in more conversations along those lines in the last several...