by Bruce | June 21, 2007 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Globalization, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
"Strategy" is what you do that’s outward-focused, right?—in the sense that it’s focused on what practice areas you are investing in or retrenching from, what your firm’s geographic footprint is, and how you attempt to distinguish your...
by Bruce | June 20, 2007 | Articles, Book Reviews, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
If you are fascinated as I am by the congeries of issues lying at the intersection of the "partnership ethos" and "corporate-like management," then you need to be familiar with the work of Dr. Laura Empson, as highlighted in Aric Press’s...
by Bruce | June 18, 2007 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Globalization, Leadership, Marketing, Practice Group Management, Strategy
I’ve been friends with the folks at the London-based "Managing Partners’ Forum" for a couple of years, and tomorrow morning I’ll be speaking at their event, "Managing Clients Across Borders," here at Clifford Chance’s...
by Bruce | June 16, 2007 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Globalization, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
Marking the 10th anniversary of the merger that created CMS Cameron McKenna, Managing Partner Dick Tyler has a piece in Legal Week reflecting on the past 10 years and the future. As he describes his goal for the article: "What has the profession as a whole...
by Bruce | June 12, 2007 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy
From an interview in The New York Times on June 9 with Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of GE: "At one point in our conversation, I asked Immelt how he balanced the need to be building consensus with the need to make a firm decision and, in effect, show who’s boss. It...
by Bruce | June 9, 2007 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy
(1) "Our firm is only as good as our lawyers." (2) "Our lawyers are our most valuable asset." (3) "Associate attrition is costing us a fortune." (4) "Why do so many women drop off the partnership track?" If all these statements...