Against a backdrop of a fast-changing technology environment; value-conscious clients, rising rents, and the need to provide meaningful alternative fee arrangements, law firms are being challenged to deliver innovative services and efficiencies like never before.
Profit, delusion and how Big Law became obsessed with the wrong things
K&L’s Tony Griffiths says the father of business theory has lessons Big Law would do well to learn
Many centuries ago while studying law as an undergraduate, a particularly inspiring corporate law lecturer suggested that I might want to read a book on management theory, as well as immersing myself in case law and precedent. I still have no idea why he suggested it and I believe I was the only one in the company law class who took him up on it.
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Bespoke, mobile and plugged in – the tech tools clients and staff will demand
CMS’s Duncan Weston argues that a new attitude to technology will be essential for the best law firms
Against a backdrop of a fast-changing technology environment; value-conscious clients, rising rents, and the need to provide meaningful alternative fee arrangements, law firms are being challenged to deliver innovative services and efficiencies like never before. Embracing new technologies, LPOs and alternative business structures just goes with the territory.
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Comment: Leadership by soundbite is fuelling a well-being crisis for in-house counsel
As a consultant spending most of my professional time working with general counsel (GCs), so concerned have I become at the pressures and strain on the mental health of in-house counsel, that this summer I authored a report on what I see as the crisis in well-being in-house.
The wellness crisis for in-house counsel – you must sort it out
Paul Gilbert argues that general counsel’s failure to act as a team has heaped a rising burden on stressed in-house lawyers
As a consultant spending most of my professional time working with general counsel (GCs), so concerned have I become at the pressures and strain on the mental health of in-house counsel, that this summer I authored a report on what I see as the crisis in well-being in-house. In this article I won’t repeat those concerns – nor dwell on how poorly I believe some GCs are addressing the issue – but I will try to identify the root causes of the problems I have found and some simple steps to rectify them.
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Getting a grip on the ‘slippery ladder’ – Reed Smith’s Tamara Box on women and law
Imagine, in sequence, a football player, a surveyor, a figure skater and a managing partner of a law firm – all without gender association. Were you able to do that? Now imagine a carpenter. When you have that image settled in your mind, tell me the colour of her hair.
Taking the firm to the client – Simmons’ head argues that traditional rainmakers are gone
When I qualified (was it really 30 years ago?) I had this impression about how law firms worked. The partnership was made up of different people. There were the technical geniuses – the lawyers who were the equivalent of the rocket scientists at the investment banks. There were the managers who made things work, like meeting the deadlines. Then there were the rainmakers.
Taking the firm to the client – traditional rainmakers are gone
Simmons senior partner Colin Passmore argues a new breed of collaborators are the rainmakers of tomorrow
When I qualified (was it really 30 years ago?) I had this impression about how law firms worked. The partnership was made up of different people. There were the technical geniuses – the lawyers who were the equivalent of the rocket scientists at the investment banks. There were the managers who made things work, like meeting the deadlines. Then there were the rainmakers.
Continue reading “Taking the firm to the client – traditional rainmakers are gone”
Getting a grip on the ‘slippery ladder’ – women and law
Reed Smith’s Tamara Box argues the profession needs to fight the gender stereotypes that stop women advancing
Imagine, in sequence, a football player, a surveyor, a figure skater and a managing partner of a law firm – all without gender association. Were you able to do that? Now imagine a carpenter. When you have that image settled in your mind, tell me the colour of her hair.
Continue reading “Getting a grip on the ‘slippery ladder’ – women and law”
‘You can’t buy loyalty’ – Fieldfisher’s Lohn on the dos and don’ts of making the lateral hiring game pay off
For most law firms, growth connotes success. Strategies to deliver the desired growth will usually rely on a steady, sometimes significant, stream of lateral partner hires. These new partners are perceived to be integral to the future success of a business – a supply of fresh talent which can expand different practice areas, enable a firm to enter new jurisdictions and access new clients.