by Bruce | October 5, 2006 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization
The "Global 100" is out, presented jointly in The American Lawyer and in The Lawyer. Like the AmLaw 100, the "Global 100" ranks firms by revenue (as opposed to, say, lawyer headcount or profits per partner), and here are some of the...
by Bruce | October 2, 2006 | About the Site, Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Strategy
If you ever wondered why "Adam Smith, Esq." concentrates on law firms to the essential exclusion of inhouse legal departments—and if you happened to know that I spent nearly 10 years inhouse at Morgan Stanley/Dean Witter as a securities lawyer,...
by Bruce | September 25, 2006 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, M&A, Strategy
In the current issue of Legal Week, you can find both a breathless and statistics-distorting lead editorial, which I commend immediately to your e-dustbin (71% is "almost three-quarters," while 61% is "well under two-thirds"—how about the...
by Bruce | September 20, 2006 | Articles, Finance, Leadership, Strategy, Technology strategy
Is IT capable of providing a sustainable competitive advantage, as it has for American Airlines, Dell Computer, FedEx, and Wal-Mart, or is it a necessary—but not distinguishing—function that should be managed to operate smoothly at minimal cost (like...
by Bruce | September 12, 2006 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, M&A, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy
It’s not our wont to try to "cover" late-breaking news—that’s not an arena where I care to compete, nor is it why I think you come to "Adam Smith, Esq."—but just as every rule has exceptions, so today’s word of merger...
by Bruce | September 11, 2006 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Practice Group Management, Strategy, Technology strategy
In kicking off the core/required course "Strategic Technology & Innovation" that I’m teaching as an adjunct professor at SUNY/Stony Brook’s Graduate College of Business—a two-year program leading to an MBA for senior law firm managers...
