by Bruce | December 12, 2014 | Articles, Business Models, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Recruiting, Strategy
From the Kirkland & Ellis site, under the topic Careers–>Laterals Overview (I quote in full, emphasis supplied): At Kirkland, the quality and experience of our lawyers are among our greatest strengths. We are committed to making a substantial investment...
by Bruce | December 8, 2014 | Articles, Client Relationships, Globalization, Leadership, Profiles of Individuals
Last month I had the pleasure of being on a panel in Europe with Joe Longo, the General Counsel for Asia-Pacific of Deutsche Bank AG. Joe had some particularly thought-provoking and hard-headed observations about the changing dynamics between law firms and clients. ...
by Bruce | December 3, 2014 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Leadership, Technology strategy
Nearly four years have passed since IBM’s Watson beat two human beings at Jeopardy, and not just any two human beings: Ken Jennings, record-holder for longest winning streak (74 appearances) and Brad Rudder, largest single money-winner ($3.25-million). As...
by Bruce | November 25, 2014 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Strategy
Circling in the wings around almost any discussion of management and leadership issues in law firms, sometimes touted as a virtue above all others and sometimes only alluded to with caution, as one would might a wraith, is the issue of a firm’s...
by Bruce | November 12, 2014 | Articles, Business Models, Finance, Globalization, Strategy
A few weeks ago, an editor at the Oxford University Press site, “Academic Insights for the Thinking World,” was kind enough to write me and ask if I might care to submit an essay for their site. Yes, I’d be delighted, was my response; what about?...
by Bruce | November 11, 2014 | About the Site, Articles, Book Reviews
Will you be in Dallas Wednesday, December 3 at 6:00 pm? If so, join me for discussion and cocktails around the emerging state of the law firm market. It will be at the historic Belo Mansion in the heart of downtown Dallas. From the description of the event: The “New...
by Bruce | November 6, 2014 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Leadership, Strategy
“lim•in•al” (1) of or relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process; (2) occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold. From the Latin limen/liminis: threshold, doorway. You may not have thought of it this way, but we are...
by Bruce | October 28, 2014 | Articles, Marketing, Strategy
Legal Business recently ran a piece on leadership in law firms which—surprisingly for articles on this topic—actually succeeded in getting beyond bromidic pablum. I commend it to you in its entirety, but meanwhile I want to talk about a particular perspective they...
by Bruce | October 27, 2014 | About the Site, Articles, Book Reviews, Strategy
Will you be in Chicago Thursday, November 20 at 6:00 pm? If so, you must come to what promises to be an engaging discussion about the rapidly evolving market dynamics of Law Land. Panelists will include: It will be at The Standard Club, 320 South Plymouth Court. From...
by Bruce | October 22, 2014 | Articles, Just Plain Interesting, Strategy
Around this time of year the Nobel Prize in Economics is awarded, and while we don’t always cover it here on Adam Smith, Esq., this year’s is worth a note. As everyone who cares about these things an iota knows by now, the winner was Jean Tirole of...