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...
by Bruce | January 31, 2005 | Articles, Compensation, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
"Law firms are being forced to run themselves along more ‘corporate’ lines than ever before," reports the FT, summarizing a PwC report on the top 50 UK firms during 2004. This new "strategic approach" may represent a departure...
by Bruce | January 27, 2005 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy
Building a genuinely trusting, collaborative, integrated culture—where one does not exist—is among the tallest of orders that a firm can face. Since control over clients is such a key source of power, client-hogging and the individualistic behavior...
by Bruce | January 16, 2005 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Just Plain Interesting, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
Which profession is most likely to suffer from stress, depression, and alcohol or substance abuse? That’s right—here’s lookin’ at you, kid. According to the FT, alcohol-related deaths in the UK among lawyers are double the rate of...