Law Firm Management

Management: Year-end relief

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | February 21, 2007

We are rapidly approaching the end of the tax year and, soon thereafter, Gordon Brown's 10th anniversary as Chancellor. Political speculation suggests he will not be in his current post for much longer, but his elevation and a move along the street are unlikely to presage a change in the Government's tax policy.

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Editor's comment: Brand Values

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | February 14, 2007

Before you can retain them, you have to attract them... A derivatives partner conceded recently that his department's efforts to retain young lawyers were focused mainly on keeping them on for a mere six months after they had become useful, such was the current demand for talented young lawyers from the investment banks.

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Tony Angel: Leading from the middle

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | February 14, 2007

Running a global law firm requires leadership and management; and they are not the same thing. Leadership is about providing vision, direction, motivation, energy and enthusiasm. Management is about providing systems, structures, metrics, rewards and controls. The problem is that most lawyers see leadership as good and management as bad. Yet both are essential and the real trick for a managing partner is to marry the two in a way that best achieves his three essential tasks:

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Management: Peak performance

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | February 14, 2007

Virtually every law firm in the country will have partners who could do better and contribute more to the firm. In many firms, a lack of a formal appraisal procedure means that their fellow partners are failing to take them to task. This can result in an established culture of underperformance within the firm, leading in some cases to complacency and poor profitability.

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Management and IT: The right resource

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | February 14, 2007

The holiday season is still a distant prospect but for law firms the New Year means the rapid approach of Easter and the long summer break. Juggling staff levels with client demand and natural peaks and troughs in activity is essential to ensure a firm's workflow does not slip into 'go-slow' in the summer. Yet how can the law, a people-centred business, balance ever-fluctuating resource planning needs with a trading environment which encourages firms to constantly drive down overheads?

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Management and IT: A lesson in retention

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | February 14, 2007

Knowledge and experience management is one of the top four most important strategic challenges faced by the UK's leading law firms, according to research conducted by Thomson Elite. Following a recent survey of the UK's 125 largest firms, 73% of those surveyed rated it as either a 'very important' or an 'important' issue.

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Management: Bedrock principles

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | February 7, 2007

Twenty years ago, partnership was the pre-eminent form of governance in most major professional sectors. In the 1980s, it began to decline in sectors such as accounting, consulting and investment banking to the extent that almost 50 of the top 100 accounting firms are now organised as privately-held or publicly-quoted corporations. So far, law firms have been slow to follow their lead, but in the UK the new Legal Services Bill brings with it the possibility of change.

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First among equals

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | January 31, 2007

The news that Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is to shed some 50 or so partners in the next year may have surprised a few at the firm's Fleet Street HQ, but at Linklaters the shock was that its arch rival had not acted sooner. Over at Silk Street, they have long shed the softly, softly approach to partnership that used to characterise the profession and managing partner Tony Angel has taken the firm in hand with obvious results.

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I predict...

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | January 24, 2007

What future trends are worrying managing partners in the US? A survey of 100 managing partners highlighted a range of concerns, such as regulatory changes, the rise of outsourcing and the generation gap. Patrick McKenna reports

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Survival of the fittest

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | January 10, 2007

With the Carter reforms set to take hold next year, insolvency is a very real threat facing law firms. David Miles offers advice on how not to go bust in 2007

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National Law Journal

Nelson Mullins Takes 11 Miles & Stockbridge Partners for Baltimore Launch

By Meredith Hobbs | February 22, 2018

The hires by South Carolina-based Nelson Mullins coincide with a leadership change at Miles & Stockbridge.

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The American Lawyer

Shearman & Sterling Taps Capital Markets Pro as New Leader

By Miriam Rozen | February 22, 2018

David Beveridge will replace M&A partner Creighton Condon as the firm's senior partner.

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National Law Journal

Fearing DLA Piper-Style Breach, DC Firms Ramp Up Cyber Defenses

By Ryan Lovelace | February 22, 2018

Months after a crippling malware attack on one of the world's largest law firms made global headlines, firms in the nation's capital say they're doing everything they can to fend off a similar crisis.

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The Recorder

Sheppard Mullin Posts 27th Straight Year of Revenue Growth

By Xiumei Dong | February 22, 2018

The Los Angeles-based Am Law 100 firm saw gains in several key metrics in 2017.

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Pro Mid Market

Mid-Market Recap: Signs of Momentum for Female Leadership at Midsize Firms

By Hank Grezlak | February 22, 2018

The legal profession, particularly when it comes to firm leadership and highest paid partners, remains, amazingly in 2018, overwhelmingly white and…

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The American Lawyer

Latham & Watkins Makes History with $3 Billion in Revenue

By Roy Strom | February 22, 2018

The firm became the first to exceed $3 billion in annual revenue last year, setting up a new challenge for anyone looking to take its place atop the Am Law 100.

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International

PwC Eyes Global Expansion of Its Flexible Lawyering Service

By Alex Berry | February 22, 2018

The big four firm's on-demand lawyering service has signed up more than 1,000 contractors since it launched in the U.K. four months ago. The model is now also being used at PwC's Swiss offices, and its Asia network is considering adopting it as well.

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The American Lawyer

25 Years In, Litigation Boutique Bartlit Beck Has New Leadership

By Scott Flaherty | February 21, 2018

Jason Peltz, who has spent most of his career as a litigator with Bartlit Beck, has become the firm's new managing partner. Longtime firm leader and former managing partner Skip Herman has assumed the role of chairman.

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Connecticut Law Tribune

Former Law Firm Paralegal Claims Nonstop Sexual Harassment by Firm Owner

By Robert Storace | February 21, 2018

Meghan Lyon has sued the law firm where she worked as a paralegal alleging sexual harassment and verbal abuse. The lawsuit was filed earlier this month.

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The American Lawyer

Revenue Gains Propel Mayer Brown Past Pre-Recession Record

By Roy Strom | February 21, 2018

With a 4.2 percent jump in revenue in 2017, Mayer Brown became the latest law firm of its size to catch up to its own performance before the 2008 financial crisis.

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