by Bruce | December 13, 2007 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Practice Group Management
Today, in a rare departure into citing what not to do, we have as Exhibit A a piece in the current issue of the ABA’s Law Practice Magazine, "Essential Attributes of Successful Managing Partners." And what, pray tell, are those attributes of the...
by Bruce | November 5, 2007 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy
Today’s WSJ has a front page story "Perform-or-Die Culture Leaves Thin Talent Pool for Top Wall Street Jobs," which discusses the dearth of talent—or at least, talent deemed publicly acceptable—"for the biggest jobs in finance."...
by Bruce | October 22, 2007 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Marketing, Practice Group Management
This past Thursday morning at the offices of White & Case, I had the opportunity to participate in presenting the results of a survey of how professional service firms (primarily law firms) set strategy. Held under the auspices of the Managing...
by Bruce | October 16, 2007 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Marketing, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management
What do the stories "Qualcomm Meets a Stern Judge" and "Banking Giant Pioneers Adviser League Table" have in common? The first is about Southern District of California U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Major coming out swinging against lawyers involved...
by Bruce | October 15, 2007 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy
If you have a candidate for something that’s harder to achieve than large-scale organizational change—transformative change, not reforms or trim-tab adjustments—let me know. And yet, if your firm is to remain relevant in changing marketplaces,...
by Bruce | October 12, 2007 | Articles, Finance, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy
Sustaining our firm’s culture is critically important. Professional development and mentoring are the only way to sustain our pipeline of talent. Knowledge transfer across generational divides (including institutional knowledge) is essential to our continued...