by Bruce | October 7, 2008 | Articles, Finance, Globalization, Strategy
A few weeks ago I posed the question to you all: Will the realignment of the top financial services institutions fundamentally alter the long-term demand for legal services? Here’s how you voted: A couple of aspects of these seem worth commentary: ...
by Bruce | October 4, 2008 | Articles, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Strategy
With all the body blows the New York City financial services industry and its attendant handmaidens (BigLaw, that would be you) have taken in the past couple of months, it may be time to remind ourselves that for the past two centuries or so, ever since New...
by Bruce | September 19, 2008 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, M&A, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy
Nothing less than a generational transformation of investment banking and the financial services industry at large. Its implications for, among other things, the economies of New York City and London, the structure of global capital markets, and our own dearly...
by Bruce | September 15, 2008 | Articles, Finance, Globalization, Strategy
Pete Peterson, former head of Lehman Brothers, co-founder of Blackstone, and secretary of commerce under Nixon, described this weekend’s events on Wall Street with what almost amounts to understatement: "My goodness. I’ve been in the business 35...
by Bruce | September 6, 2008 | Articles, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, M&A, Strategy
Best of times or worst of times to make some acquisitions? This is one area where the head/heart divergence may be more radical than usual—and where it could really cost you. Here’s how McKinsey poses the dilemma: "As the credit crunch threatens to...
by Bruce | September 1, 2008 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Innovative Managing Partners, Leadership, Strategy
Time to take stock. This dratted credit crunch has now celebrated, if that’s the word, its first birthday, and there is no clarity about when it may end. What’s a law firm to do? If you believe McKinsey, and if you believe that where investment...