Have you ever had one of those days where you planned things out, worked off a checklist and really accomplished a lot? Congratulations, you’ve just provided evidence of how project management works and why it is so important. In the value world, project management is as important a tool as a hammer is… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: July 2010
BigLaw Gaming Their Clients?
Posted in Commentary, Hourly Rates and AlternativesThis story from a friend who recently started as General Counsel at a Bank. Previously, this person had been GC at a different bank that was acquired and then took some time off after the acquisition. The GC relayed a story about a recent conversation with one of the Bank’s outside lawyers. In that conversation,… Continue Reading
Change You Can Believe In. Maybe Not So Much.
Posted in CommentaryIn the past couple of weeks, several top law firms have announced that they are changing the salaries they will pay starting associates back to $160,000. Similar changes are expected, because all law firms are committed "to the market." It seems like only yesterday that the elite of BigLaw were falling over themselves to tell… Continue Reading
Value Tip Of The Day No. 7 — Learn From Businesses And Make Sure Your Law Firms Do Too.
Posted in Value TipsI can’t explain why any better than by my friend Anthony Kearns in this article.
Value Tip Of The Day No. 6 — How Does Your Legal Spend Effect EPS?
Posted in Value TipsJeff Carr, the General Counsel of FMC Technologies, recently discussed the relationship between his department’s legal spend and his company’s earnings per share. In days when even a penny or two of increased EPS can positively influence share value, thinking about legal spend in the light of EPS really changes the focus. Each law… Continue Reading
Value Tip Of The Day No. 5 — Experience Matters. A Lot.
Posted in Value TipsIn hospitals, they call it the "July effect." A recent study, described on NPR, shows that more people die of medical mistakes in July than any other month in hospitals. Not all hospitals, just teaching hospitals where a new crop of residents begin to learn how to be a real doctor every July. There… Continue Reading
Value Tip Of The Day No. 4 — Think Like Private Equity
Posted in Value TipsRead Lessons From Private Equity Any Company Can Use (Memo to the CEO) by Orit Gadiesh and Hugh Macarthur. Gadiesh is the Chair of Bain and Company and Macarthur is a partner with the firm. They know private equity, and in this book they explain the simple rules that must be followed to extract… Continue Reading
Value Tip Of The Day: No. 3 — Learn from John Wooden
Posted in Value TipsMuch has been said about John Wooden since his recent death. But two things John Wooden said have really stuck with me since I first heard them many years ago, and they are cornerstones of a value practice. "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail." "If you don’t have time to do it right,… Continue Reading