Law Firm Management

Business Development: Branding matters

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | May 9, 2007

On 1 March Nabarro Nathanson rebranded and shortened its name to Nabarro. The time had come for the firm to express its identity more clearly.

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Law in Business: The road ahead

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | May 2, 2007

The career priorities for an assistant are pretty clear. They must hone professional skills. Values focus on completing tasks on time, accuracy and being punctual.

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The succession pipeline

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | April 25, 2007

A partner from a 'big four' accounting firm hired one of us (Andrew Bass) to work with some of his senior managers on a one-to-one basis. He explained: "I have some really bright guys who have succeeded throughout their lives by being excellent at technical things. And that has got them as far as one level below partner. But then one day they started coming in and they were not standing so tall; in fact, they were dead worried. Because they had just realised they have not been commercial enough and that they therefore are a long way from making the case for partnership. They are used to succeeding but now they are stuck and cannot make any further progress by doing what they have done to succeed before."

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US Top 50/New York: The bottom dollar

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | April 18, 2007

On average, the dollar has demonstrated significant weakness against the pound over the past three years. Comparing the spot rate in December 2005 to December 2006, the exchange rate declined by 14%. Not surprisingly, and particularly for US law firms with operations in the UK, these changes have presented significant operational challenges and some perception management challenges, especially when reporting results to legal publications in the UK and Europe.

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US Top 50/New York: Full steam ahead

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | April 18, 2007

The development of a top-tier New York-based, US M&A practice is central to the strategy of Clifford Chance (CC). Deals involving a US company accounted for more than 40% of global M&A activity in 2006 and the total value of US M&A transactions grew faster than the rest of the world. Looking ahead to the remainder of 2007, it seems likely that activity will, if anything, escalate as there has already been a significant number of US mega-deals and the increasing cross-border nature of US M&A will continue.

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Management: Riding the M&A wave

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | April 18, 2007

The resurgence of big-ticket M&A will please many partners because the work runs throughout their entire practices, stimulating demand for several different services. Yet structural change can also have a traumatic effect on cash flow. There can be few events more disruptive than a key client becoming the subject of a merger or acquisition. Longstanding relationships can be lost as senior contacts move or lose out in organisational change; some practices lose lucrative contracts as work is consolidated under suppliers favoured by acquirers; others lose places on client panels.

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Management & IT: Get your house in order

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | April 18, 2007

When it comes to electronic discovery - the process of producing digital information as part of a legal matter - ignorance is no longer bliss. The massive volume of enterprise data located in file systems, applications, pre-primary storage and archives can be discoverable at any time.

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Management & IT: Simplifying the complex

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | April 18, 2007

Barristers' chambers have an inherently complex offering. Essentially, chambers are communicating experience, knowledge and people. This raises the question of how best they present that offering.

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Star treatment

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | April 4, 2007

The legal sector labour market is experiencing the same demographic squeeze as other intellectual capital sectors - and this trend is set to worsen. In addition, employee attrition in some firms is unacceptably high at 20%-25%.

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Management: The bigger picture

By a:1:{i:0;s:1:" ";} | March 28, 2007

With the evenings getting lighter and the days lengthening, this time of year always seems to present things in a fresh light. In the past few weeks we have talked to a number of law firms that want to experience something similar. While they may have great clients, those clients tend to call on their advisers only for certain expertise.

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Daily Report Online

Arrive Early to Eat That Frog

By Robin Hensley | March 2, 2018

What needs to get done in the first hour Monday morning to make the week go well? What chore is in the "critical path" for the firm this week?

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New York Law Journal

Shearman Sees Profits Rise as Revenue Stays Steady

By Christine Simmons | March 1, 2018

Shearman & Sterling boosted partner profits by 7 percent while barely eking out revenue gains last year.

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The American Lawyer

Out of Focus: Lawyers and Firms Can No Longer Ignore Dementia

By Christine Simmons | March 1, 2018

As a rising tide of Alzheimer's and other dementia diagnoses grips aging law firm partnerships, neither firms nor their lawyers have learned how to cope.

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International

DLA Piper's Former France Managing Partner Quits to Launch M&A Boutique

By James Booth | March 1, 2018

Michel Frieh, whose former firm merged with DLA Piper in 2012, spent five years as DLA Piper's country managing partner for France.

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National Law Journal

Arnold & Porter Sees Progress on Revenue, Profits After Kaye Scholer Deal

By Ryan Lovelace | March 1, 2018

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer moved the needle on key financial metrics in its first post-merger year, but the firm said it has its eye on long-term growth.

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New York Law Journal

It's Time to Develop Your Crisis Communications Plan

By Zach Olsen and Jesse Dungan | March 1, 2018

Law Firm Management columnists Zach Olsen and Jesse Dungan write: In the current climate, firms that don't take seriously the very real reputational and business interruption threats that face them are taking on significant risks that could be mitigated—if not avoided altogether—by thoughtful preparation.

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International Edition

Aggressive billing rate rises do pay off, Citi analysis finds

By Miriam Rozen | February 28, 2018

New research by Citi Private Bank's Law Firm Group shows advantage of aggressively raising published billing rates

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Pro Mid Market

The Economic Basis for Greater Diversity in the Legal Profession

By Robert L. Johnson and Steven H. Sholk | February 28, 2018

Law firms should embrace diversity and strive to increase and retain their minority ranks not just as a form of corporate social responsibility, but also because it makes economic sense.

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The American Lawyer

YL Board: This Is What Sexual Harassment in the Legal Industry Looks Like

By The Young Lawyer Editorial Board of The American Lawyer | February 28, 2018

We call for the industry to avoid silence when witnessing harassment and hold perpetrators—no matter how big a book of business—accountable.

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New Jersey Law Journal

Pregnancies Prompt Bias Suit by Lawyer at Family Law Boutique

By Charles Toutant | February 27, 2018

A lawyer has been accused in an Essex County discrimination suit of blurting out a profanity when she learned her associate was pregnant. But the defendant says she's being sued because she resisted allowing an attorney in her firm to work on a part-time basis.

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