by Bruce | July 28, 2018 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Leadership, Strategy, Technology strategy
Michael Lewis’ 2004 bestseller, Moneyball, subsequently made into a movie in 2011, has entered the vernacular. We have Moneyball for government, Moneyball for writing (and awarding) grant proposals, and, yes, Moneyball for lawyers. And its basic premise is hard to...
by Bruce | July 16, 2018 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Recruiting, Strategy, Technology strategy
“Failure to attract and retain top talent” was the number-one issue in the Conference Board’s 2016 survey of global CEOs—before economic growth and competitive intensity. In more complex jobs, this will continue to be true as baby boomers (and their long experience)...
by Bruce | July 4, 2018 | Articles
In Congress, Philadelphia, July 4, 1776 When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which...
by Bruce | June 28, 2018 | About the Site, Articles, Cultural Considerations, Leadership
Something of a detour from our regularly scheduled programming, but we are not living in “ordinary times.” In the immediate wake of announcements from President Trump that he was ordering the end of the policy of separating children from their parents at the border,...
by Bruce | June 27, 2018 | Articles, Book Reviews, Finance, Leadership, Question of the Month
According to the recently released 2018 Altman Weil “Law Firms in Transition” (an annual survey they’ve been doing for a decade with invaluable longitudinal data at this point), in 51% of firms surveyed equity partners are “not busy...
by Bruce | June 25, 2018 | Articles, Finance, Leadership, Strategy
What is the “yield curve” and why should you care? Well, first off, it’s not remotely the kind of topic we regularly write about on Adam Smith, Esq., because it seems far removed from “the economics of law firms,” but then again,...
by Bruce | June 22, 2018 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Leadership, Partnership Structures
Yes, it happens. We’ve seen several situations where the firm’s Managing Partner or Chair can’t bring themselves to make decisions–some arguably critical to the firm’s prosperity and vibrancy in the long run–because they fear some partners will object....
by Bruce | June 5, 2018 | About the Site, Adam Smith Himself, Articles
Born June 5, 1723, Kirkcaldy, Scotland: Died Edinburgh July 17, 1790, age 67. Of course few things are quite that simple. June 5 was the date his baptism was recorded at Kirkcaldy church, so his actual birthday was almost surely a bit earlier; but custom and...
by Bruce | June 2, 2018 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Recruiting, Strategy
Copious has been the coverage around Freshfields’ revised lockstep–for example, The Lawyer’s “Be careful what you wish for: First round of Freshfields partners hit by lockstep reform.” It turns out that no matter how resounding the endorsement of the partners...
by Bruce | May 29, 2018 | Articles, Business Models, Cultural Considerations, Globalization, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
Our custom after trips of some substance is to report back to readers in the form of a “Letter From ____,” and since I spent all of last week in my Second Favorite City in the World, here you have it. Logistics and context I had 21 meetings in four days with a mix of...
