by Bruce | January 12, 2015 | Articles, Finance, Practice Group Management
Regular readers know that some of the “evergreen” topics here on Adam Smith, Esq. include: The theme that profits matter more than revenue—but that remarkably few partners think in those terms; The inevitable invasion of Law Land by Big Data in all its...
by Bruce | January 5, 2015 | About the Site, Articles
Still searching for a New Year’s Resolution? One that’s drop-dead simple to keep, at least? In the spirit of trying to be helpful to our loyal readers in all things, may we offer a modest suggestion: Simply subscribe to the Adam Smith, Esq. email list. By...
by Bruce | January 2, 2015 | Articles, Marketing, Profiles of Individuals
Bruce Marcus, whose life and work recast professional services marketing in a client-centric mold, died shortly before Christmas in New Haven of an aneurysm, at age 89. I got the news on the phone that day from Mana, his wife of over 50 years, calling from their home...
by Bruce | December 30, 2014 | Articles, Cultural Considerations, Leadership, M&A, Strategy
To paraphrase the gone-but-not-forgotten E.F. Hutton campaign (I did work on Wall Street—I’m allowed these memories), when a Director Emeritus of McKinsey, who founded and led the firm’s global practice supporting mergers and acquisitions, speaks about...
by Bruce | December 23, 2014 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Practice Group Management, Recruiting
Russell Long (1918—2003) was a US Senator from Louisiana for nearly 40 years (1948—1987) and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee for nearly half that period. As such, he was an expert on the US tax code and, legend has it, observed that the realities of politics...
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?...
