by Bruce | August 6, 2007 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Strategy
"Is this any way to recruit associates?" asks a lead story in this month’s American Lawyer. What is "this way?" We all know the drill, most of us from both sides of the table: Top law schools orchestrate dances of...
by Bruce | July 27, 2007 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Innovative Managing Partners, Leadership, Strategy
I’m pleased to announce that I’m now the US director of the Strategy Panel of the UK-based Managing Partners’ Forum. My co-directors are Andrew Hedley of Hedley Consulting (London) and Rob Millard of Edge International (Bahamas). What...
by Bruce | July 20, 2007 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy, Technology strategy
We conclude our three-part history of Allen & Overy with the years 1998—2007, the decade surrounding the turn of our current century. These years are, for my money, primarily the story of A&O’s investments in internationalization bearing...
by Bruce | July 18, 2007 | Articles, Finance, Globalization, Just Plain Interesting, Partnership Structures, Strategy, Technology strategy
My friend Professor William Henderson at Indiana University School of Law—Bloomington just sent word of a new initiative the law school is launching in conjunction with the American Bar Foundation. Called the "Law Firms Working Group," the...
by Bruce | July 17, 2007 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
When we left Allen & Overy in June 1971, Jim Thomson had just died. "He, more than any one other single individual, represented Allen & Overy; in the minds of many people in the City, clients and competitors alike, Jim Thomson was Allen &...
by Bruce | July 14, 2007 | Articles, Book Reviews, Cultural Considerations, Globalization, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
A couple of weeks ago, the two volume history of the firm of Allen & Overy arrived FedEx from Europe. I had just recently learned that the books existed, and the firm was kind enough to send me them when I expressed interest. When they arrived, they...