It has become commonplace – I have bowed to convention and endorsed the notion myself – to observe that law firms are labour not capital – intensive, and that (here’s the dangerous and subtle segue) therefore there would be no benefit to them in taking on outside investors, much less going public.
Comment: The limits of culture – WLG needs more than common ground to fulfil its ambitions
Let’s get this out of the way up front. The least expected new entrant to the Global 100, Gowling WLG, is going to have to work very hard to avoid being the classic 2 + 2 = 4 union when its tie-up goes live in January.
Comment: NRF’s Martyr – ‘Society craves balance but the profession drives our people in a different direction’
Our profession is facing a growing tension between the drive for profit – the resurgent guiding principle of the 2000s – and the increasing demand for more social responsibility among businesses. Post-recession, we can add increased competition, the scrutiny of the business press and a growing focus on efficiency into the mix, all of which amounts to a potential recipe for trouble. Continue reading “Comment: NRF’s Martyr – ‘Society craves balance but the profession drives our people in a different direction’”
The limits of culture – WLG needs more than common ground to fulfil its ambitions
Let’s get this out of the way up front. The least expected new entrant to the Global 100, Gowling WLG, is going to have to work very hard to avoid being the classic 2 + 2 = 4 union when its tie-up goes live in January. Yes, it’s hard to see much downside given the hand WLG was playing, after a necessary and credibly integrated union between Wragge & Co and Lawrence Graham last year. The Gowlings fit is close enough to be acceptable, if not beyond debate. But the relative lack of interaction between the UK and Canadian economies, and the awkward realities of a dual-hub structure mean it will be perilously easy to settle into two firms existing under the same brand, rather than becoming more than the sum of its parts.
Continue reading “The limits of culture – WLG needs more than common ground to fulfil its ambitions”
Comment: What I (very roughly) said about the future of law for the quality mid-pack player
From time to time, I am asked to talk at panels and conferences. Though I usually weasel out of such commitments on account of deadlines looming threateningly over my head, I did recently agree to a one-on-one discussion with the senior partner of a mid-tier UK player at the firm’s partnership conference. Continue reading “Comment: What I (very roughly) said about the future of law for the quality mid-pack player”
Guest post: Where now for personal injury lawyers?
It is two years and one month since the coalition government decided not to raise the small claims limit for personal injury (PI) from £1,000 to £5,000.
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Guest post: The secret to surviving in a new role
I speak to a lot of people who have recently moved into new roles. It is a tough period and after three months there is often a striking contrast between their negative emotional response to their new role then, compared to the anticipation and excitement they felt on joining their new company.
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Guest post: Why law firms need to be good at what they’re for
I’m currently preparing a webinar on getting and using feedback. It’s not a new subject – either to you or to me. Yet something suddenly struck me; something that is obviously true, but is normally lost in the torrent of data that feedback can produce.
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Guest post: Out of the shadows: are institutional clients influencing lawyers to the detriment of others?
Steven Vaughan and Claire Coe have conducted a study of senior commercial lawyers for – but independent of – the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The study concentrated on ‘high impact’ [i.e. high risk in SRA terms] commercial firms working.
Guest post: Selling the bill – a method to help lawyers get rid of write-offs
A few years ago the managing partner of a mid-sized London firm said to me ‘The most important role a partner has is to sell the bill to the client.’
He went on to say that most of his firm’s write-offs were due to partners doing good work for a client without the client being convinced that the work should have been done.
Continue reading “Guest post: Selling the bill – a method to help lawyers get rid of write-offs”