I received an email this morning that I found really shocking. It was from Law Firm, Inc., attaching "an offer" from one of its advertising partners, LexisNexis. The offer was contained in what was formatted as an article or blog post, with this title: "Stacking the bench with more associates wins partners more income." Here’s the… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: July 2009
Jack Welch Work Life Pronouncement Is NOT Newsworthy
Posted in CommentaryThe ABA Weekly reported today that Jack Welch, former General Electric CEO, told an audience at Society for Human Resource Management’s annual conference that “there is no such thing as work-life balance” and women who take time off for family will have a tough time climbing the corporate ladder. Statements like these make me bristle…. Continue Reading
Work Life Balance and the Kobayashi Maru
Posted in Commentary, Leadership and ManagementI think the world of Dan Hull. Smart, opinionated, tough-as-nails, erudite. Great writer. Funny as hell. Plus we share an unwavering commitment to providing unsurpassed client service. We don’t see eye to eye on everything, though. Dan still believes in the billable hour. I have devoted my life to proving it the bane of the… Continue Reading
Does Skin In The Game Improve Case Assessments? Clients Say Yes.
Posted in Commentary, Hourly Rates and AlternativesDave Bohrer of Confluence Law Partners recently published an article, Trolling For Efficiency, which discusses the impact of using alternative fees in patent defense litigation. [I should be able to post a link to the article in a few days. Email me for a copy in the interim.] Dave is a former BigLaw IP partner,… Continue Reading
IsThe Insurance Industry Waking Up?
Posted in Commentary, Hourly Rates and AlternativesSomeone emailed me the link to an article, in Claims (Covering the Business of Loss). The article, Fleecing The Golden Goose: Why Insurers Need A Defense To Overbilling Lawyers, addresses the phenomenon of overbilling in the world of insurance defense. Here’s the tally: While the good news out of all the reports on lawyer… Continue Reading
BigLaw Partner Compensation Systems Hurt Clients
Posted in Commentary, Leadership and ManagementA July 14 post on Chicago Law announced that Joe Collins had resigned from Mayer Brown following his recent conviction in the Refco fraud debacle. That was hardly newsworthy: Collins had been on leave since 2007. Here’s the quote that caught my attention: "The story also says few other lawyers at Mayer Brown knew… Continue Reading
How High Is Too High?
Posted in Hourly Rates and AlternativesACC blog post notes that Jones Day is charging Chrysler hourly rates ranging from $400 per hour for the youngest lawyer to $950 per hour for the most experienced. Wow. Let’s run the numbers. Assume that because work is slow, the $400 lawyers work only 2000 hours per year. That’s $800,000 of revenue. … Continue Reading
More BigLaw Pain
Posted in CommentaryThe pain just keeps getting more intense. Morgan Lewis just announced that it is: 1. canceling all on-campus interviewing this coming fall; 2. canceling the summer program for 2010; and 3. pushing back the start date for current summer associates to 2011. Ouch. I keep waiting for a firm to say it is dramatically… Continue Reading
I Highly Recommend “An Open Letter to the General Counsel”
Posted in CommentaryMy friend Pam Woldow of Altman Weil just posted "An Open Letter to the General Counsel." It is must-read material if you are an inside lawyer. See if you identify with any of these comments made to Pam in an interview with a GC of a major transportation company: 1. “My legal budget has been… Continue Reading
What Can Be Outsourced Eventually Will Be
Posted in CommentaryPh.D. from the University of Chicago. Then President of a think tank in Washington, D.C. Then, motorcycle mechanic. Not a normal career path, to be sure. This is the path taken by Matthew Crawford, author of Shop Class As Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into The Value of Work. The author and his book were featured on an… Continue Reading
The Just Don’t Get It, Do They?
Posted in CommentaryAndrew Kassner, managing partner of the 680-lawyer Drinker Biddle & Reath L.L.P. of Center City, said the new focus on flat fees, incentive payments and other alternative forms of compensation means law firms need to be very careful about how they deploy their lawyers. High-level partners, for example, shouldn’t be doing legal research that can… Continue Reading
Valorem Improvement Contest
Posted in People, Places and BlawgsNo one has cornered the market on great ideas. Certainly not us, But we feed on great ideas, so we wanted to try something out. Here’s the message: We want to get everyone’s creative juices flowing. And everyone means everyone, except for Nicole, Mark, Hugh and Pat (i.e. the judges). If your friend, wants to… Continue Reading
Economy Improving? Words Say Yes, Actions Say No.
Posted in CommentaryYou have marvel at the ability lawyers have with sleight of hand. Here on the left, we will tell you the economy is improving. Ignore the additional layoffs, deferred start dates, cancellation of on-campus interviewing, closing of offices and other actions taken with my right hand. In June, nearly 60% of the respondents in a… Continue Reading
A Lesson From Our Forefathers
Posted in Leadership and ManagementHappy Birthday America. Two hundred thirty three years ago, leaders decided that change not only was possible, but necessary. Were they certain what change would bring? Of course not. But they did it anyway.