by Bruce | January 31, 2009 | Articles, Compensation, Finance, Practice Group Management
When The New York Times features it on the front page, it must be real, right? I’m referring to Billable Hours Giving Ground at Law Firms, which features Evan Chesler flatly arguing that “This is the time to get rid of the billable hour."...
by Bruce | December 22, 2008 | Articles, Finance, Globalization, M&A, Practice Group Management, Strategy
A Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays story of the first order: As noted this morning by The New York Times, Above The Law, and The WSJ Law Blog, Sonnenschein is acquiring about 100 lawyers, including 40 partners, from 160-year-old Thacher Proffitt &...
by Bruce | November 27, 2008 | Articles, Globalization, Innovative Managing Partners, Leadership, Practice Group Management, Strategy
Twenty-six years ago Tom Peters and Robert Waterman published In Search of Excellence, and to some extent the genre of writing for business managers hasn’t been the same since. If for no other reason, it’s worth taking a moment to revisit...
by Bruce | October 22, 2008 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Practice Group Management, Strategy
We are surely living in times of manic-depressive equity and fixed-income markets ("We’ve made the future safe for Western financial institutions!" "No, we haven’t!). New York City itself can seem to be suffering from one gigantic case...
by Bruce | October 14, 2008 | Articles, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Practice Group Management
Making the rounds is a presentation by Sequoia Capital on "startups and the economic downturn," which constitutes a sort of come-to-Jesus meeting for that storied VC firm’s portfolio companies. It tells a tale of radical gloom, with...
by Bruce | September 21, 2008 | Articles, Finance, Practice Group Management, Strategy
Sometimes in the midst of turmoil all around us, with the landscape of the financial services industry–for many of us, our lifeblood–reforming under our very eyes, it’s worthwhile to take a step back and reflect upon some enduring business verities....