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 13, 2007 | Articles, Finance, Globalization, Partnership Structures, Strategy
Bloomberg News ran a story yesterday headlined "Slater & Gordon Lifts Curtain on Global Law Firms Going Public," which features excerpts from interviews with seven people, including yours truly, offering their views on what the implications might...
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...
by Bruce | May 30, 2007 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy
The most important factors in recruiting laterals are: (a) that they have a sizable, portable book of business; and (b) that they can start generating revenue from that book almost immediately after coming on board your firm. Right? Wrong, and wrong. I’ve...
by Bruce | May 26, 2007 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy
As a manager, how do you balance the imperative of long-term strategic focus with the exigencies of day to day "incoming?" As a practitioner, how do you balance the demands of clients and deals with your well-intended resolutions to be a better...