by Bruce | February 1, 2023 | Articles, Just Plain Interesting, Marketing
This column is by Janet Stanton, Partner. Adam Smith, Esq. The very (very!) good news is that IRL conferences are back. We recently attended two on opposite coasts just over the course of ten days What is definitely not so welcome is that lanyards are back as...
by Bruce | January 22, 2023 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Strategy
Consider: According to PwC’s annual 2023 survey of CEOs worldwide (4,410 from 105 countries), 40% said they did not see their own companies as viable in 10 years if they stayed on their current path. Bob Moritz, PwC’s global chair, summarized it as follows:...
by Bruce | January 4, 2023 | Articles, Business Models, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Practice Group Management, Strategy
“Transparency!” is a far more clarion call to arms than “Opacity.” And as a securities lawyer, I was trained–and didn’t take much convincing, truth be told–that full disclosure was a not so minor deity. Yet here I am...
by Bruce | December 12, 2022 | Articles, Business Models, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Globalization, Leadership, Strategy
Remember these? We made it customary here at Adam Smith, Esq. to publish a “Letter from….” after our return from any meaningful business trip to noteworthy cities. And, thankfully, here we are. When you’ce been away from anything–a Great...
by Bruce | November 18, 2022 | About the Site, Articles, Business Models, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Partnership Structures, Recruiting
This article is by Janet Stanton, Partner, Adam Smith, Esq. Recently, we had the good fortune to work with our great friends at Above the Law on a project to delve into the current associate mindset. As with the recent midterm elections, the results were not what the...
by Bruce | November 16, 2022 | Articles, Branding, Cultural Considerations, Leadership, Partnership Structures, Recruiting, Strategy
Memory does not recall these pages ever featuring or even mentioning a rap star or a basketball star, but we are confident that our readers have wide-ranging and catholic tastes so we are sailing forth here undaunted. Plus, there should be a first time for...
by Bruce | November 8, 2022 | About the Site, Articles, Client Relationships
A technical issue took us offline for the greater part of 24 hours. Our apologies. The issue was caused by our hosting service, a nationally recognized brand (they have run Super Bowl ads), with whom we had been for many many years, performing unexpected,...
by Bruce | November 3, 2022 | Adam Smith Himself, Articles, Book Reviews, Just Plain Interesting
Across my desk a couple of weeks ago came an advance copy of Glory Liu’s Adam Smith’s America: How a Scottish Philosopher Became an Icon of American Capitalism (Princeton University Press, Princeton & Oxford: 2022). The author, although a new name to...
by Bruce | October 10, 2022 | Articles, Finance, Just Plain Interesting, Profiles of Individuals
And the winner of the 2022 Nobel prize in economics is… Ben Bernanke! Or, as The New York Times reported somewhat more formally: The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded on Monday to Ben S. Bernanke, the former Federal Reserve chair, and two...
by Bruce | October 4, 2022 | Articles, Compensation, Cultural Considerations, Finance, Leadership, Practice Group Management, Recruiting, Strategy
We’ve worked with a lot of law firms over the years and an evergreen topic of discussion is their partner compensation plan–how it’s structured overall, if it’s aligned to the firm’s strategy, and then all the devilish details to be...
