by Bruce | March 16, 2005 | Articles, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, M&A, Partnership Structures, Strategy
Despite the stupefying fact that The Wall Street Journal reported late last year that 45% of Americans believe "literally" in the Biblical story of Creation, whereas only 31% subscribe to the theory of evolution (have you thanked a teacher today?), Darwinian...
by Bruce | March 6, 2005 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy
To risk stating the obvious, a major downside of acquiring powerful lateral partners or small groups thereof is that they will not stay. Now The American Lawyer has a piece covering the story of same over the past five years or so, complete with a helpful and...
by Bruce | March 1, 2005 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Knowledge Management, Leadership, M&A, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy, Technology strategy
Hildebrandt and The Law Firm Group of the Citigroup Private Bank, with help from Baker-Robbins, are out with their 2004 year-in-review together with some prognostications for 2005. The New York Times, in its wisdom, headlined the story, "Partnerships More...
by Bruce | February 8, 2005 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
Succession planning is part of the Management 101 toolkit that law firms ignore at their peril. Too many firm leaders are reluctant to attend to it, either intentionally ("it will all work out") or simply through preferring not to take up a potentially...
by Bruce | February 7, 2005 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
Even the reader acquainted only at the most cursory level with my perspective on the increasingly professionalized management of law firms would know I endorse that trend wholeheartedly. The question du jour is whether I endorse it without reservation. Prompting...
by Bruce | February 4, 2005 | Articles, Finance, Leadership, M&A, Marketing, Partnership Structures, Strategy
Roughly speaking, there are two theories of history: That people shape events, or that events shape people. As a confirmed subscriber to the former theory, this American Lawyer profile of Bingham-McCutchen’s chair, Jay Zimmerman, tells the tale to me of...