We have to change the way we think about change. To get to the Next Normal and succeed in that new era, we are going to have to change. A lot. As a profession, we are, to be honest, not very good at change. We have to become better. How we do so is the
Leadership and Management
The Next Normal: Moving from “Just Lawyers” to Multi-Professional Teams
By Patrick Lamb on
Law departments are not immune from the exceptionalism that pervades much of the legal industry. Lawyers, generally, think they are special. See here and here. And the problem is worse as lawyers get both older and more successful. I was fortunate to early on have an experience that vividly proved to me that despite…
The Next Normal: Prioritized Pricing
By Patrick Lamb on
I was born in Detroit and grew up in the heyday of the auto industry. So, when I first heard Ron Baker speak about Lee Iacocca, I listened with great interest. Iacocca was a Detroit icon, first for his trailblazing work for Ford and later for saving Chrysler. Ron set the stage: Chevrolet had created…
The Next Normal: Law Departments Learn to Prioritize Spend Based on Fundamental Investment Analysis
By Patrick Lamb on
Every day, businesses prioritize. They invest in one thing, not another. They fix one problem, but defer fixing another. The build one facility, but not another. They pursue one strategy to the exclusion of others. These decisions are almost always made based on some form of return-on-investment or cost-benefit analysis. ROI is coin-of-the-realm for operating…
The Next Normal
By Patrick Lamb on
From 2010 until 2016, I was a columnist for the online ABA Journal’s The New Normal column. I was invited to start the column as a result of the creation of Valorem Law Group in 2008. We started a law firm just before the Great Recession and because of the novel model and approach, we…
War is The Continuation of Politics by Other Means
By Patrick Lamb on
Heck of a title for a post about litigation, isn’t it? Bear with me for a few paragraphs and my point will be clear. I promise.
Before I go further, ask yourself why you don’t outsource problem solving for your own problems. Have you ever thought about going up to a random stranger and asking…
Justifying shadow billing as promoting diversity? Much better ways exist.
By Patrick Lamb on
Earlier this year, Vincent Cordo, the Global Sourcing Officer for Shell, and Casey Flaherty, a consultant to law departments, wrote an article for the ACC Docket, Shell Legal—Shadow Billing. Let me begin by disclosing that I have enormous respect for the work Vincent Cordo has done at Shell and that Casey is a friend whose work I also respect greatly. However, respect and friendship do not translate into complete agreement on all issues, and this article presents an area where I disagree. I know Casey won’t be surprised.
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Continue Reading Justifying shadow billing as promoting diversity? Much better ways exist.
Is your firm filled with open-minded people?
By Patrick Lamb on
Pedantic is defined as “narrowly, stodgily, and often ostentatiously learned a pedantic insistence that we follow the rules exactly” and “unimaginative, dull.” You’ll see in a minute why I began with this definition.
I read an interesting article in today’s Chicago Tribune on the signs of greatness in companies. One of the key signs is…
Econ 101: If you increase expenses more than you increase revenue, profits will be lower
By Patrick Lamb on
Posted in Commentary, Leadership and Management
You just can’t make this stuff up. A recent ABA Journal article, Some law firm leaders question associate pay hikes amid tepid year, caught my eye. The Peer Monitor report stated:
Firms were squeezed by a perfect storm of slumping demand and rising headcount.
The ABA Journal article reports:
The economic forces have led
…
Associate Salary Increases May Be Bad Business
By Patrick Lamb on
See my post in the ABA Journal.