by Bruce | April 14, 2006 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Technology strategy
I haven’t written about IT lately, but do not infer that I doubt or gainsay its bedrock role in our lives and work; it is as essential as air and sunlight. But since "Adam Smith, Esq." is not a tech-centric site (there are many amply...
by Bruce | April 13, 2006 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy
The Irish Bishop George Berkeley (1561—1626) famously asked, " “If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?” As a metaphysical question having to do with fundamental questions of epistemology, it remains...
by Bruce | April 12, 2006 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy
From a New York-based Latham & Watkins partner whom I consider a friend comes word for those of you who may have missed it that Clint Stevenson, the firm’s Managing Partner from 1967 through 1989, died on March 31, 2006 in Los Angeles, California at the age...
by Bruce | April 10, 2006 | Articles, Finance, Globalization, Knowledge Management, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy, Technology strategy
"Lawyers and innovation are not words that people automatically put together," is how the FT starts its announcement of the launch of a ranking of the most innovative law firms, and individual lawyers, co-sponsored by the accountancy BDO Stoy Hayward and...
by Bruce | April 9, 2006 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Partnership Structures
Stephen Bainbridge jokes to his wife that his latest column at the highly idiosyncratic site, "Tech Central Station" "guarantees that I will never be President of Harvard." The column, titled "Legal Sex Tournaments," applies the familiar...
by Bruce | April 5, 2006 | Articles, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, M&A, Strategy
Although the US press doesn’t seem to have picked up on it yet, Reed Smith is merging with London’s Richards Butler to create a 1300-lawyer firm with annual revenue projected to be $725-million. Richards Butler is a 75-year-old, top-30 City of London...