Law Firm Management

Baby boom or bust

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

Depending upon your perspective, the baby boomer generation is responsible for all that is good with the world or all that is wrong. Whether you are a 'boomer', a member of 'Generation X', or neither, the truth is that baby boomers were the first generation to never grow up. Like all teenagers, they rejected the values of their parents.

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Commercial Bar: Silver is the new gold

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

"Commercial barristers are struggling," said an article ('The Bar Barometer') in the pages of Legal Week in December 2006, offering analysis of the future prospects for leading chambers and supported by tales of woe from several leading commercial sets.

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Commercial Bar: No 'I' in team

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

The line between the work of barristers and solicitors is becoming increasingly blurred as both professions undergo simultaneous transformations. For those practising independently at the Bar, these changes undoubtedly affect working styles, as well as the nature of their relationship with solicitors.

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Management: Tact is the best form of defence

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

Many years ago, I received the sort of phone call that any public relations adviser dreads - a solicitor client had been accused of assaulting a woman at his Belgravia offices and the press were all over the story. Allen Chubb, then senior partner at a firm called Child & Child, had apparently rugby-tackled Laura Harold, the wife of a wealthy property developer, following a dispute in which he refused to hand over the deeds of her home before an outstanding bill was settled. Chubb was ultimately convicted of falsely imprisoning and causing actual bodily harm to Harold and faced a three-month suspension by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. The tale, unsurprisingly, resulted in reams of salacious media coverage - and that was in 1996.

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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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National Law Journal

Venable Keeps Up Steady Growth as Revenue, Profits Rise

By Ryan Lovelace | February 27, 2018

The firm cracked half-a-billion dollars in gross revenues amid a leadership change last year.

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The American Lawyer

The Death of the Law Firm Partnership Vote?

By Gina Passarella Cipriani | February 27, 2018

With an eye on efficiency, firms are ditching old methods for a more corporate form of governance.

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The American Lawyer

Billing Rate Gap Widens as Big Firms Demand Ever-Higher Premiums

By Miriam Rozen | February 27, 2018

When it comes to hourly billing rates, the largest firms have pulled even farther ahead.

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International

Baker McKenzie to Integrate Eight EMEA Offices Into Single Profit Pool

By Alex Berry | February 27, 2018

Fiona Carlin, managing partner of the firm's European and competition practice and chair of its global and antitrust practice, will lead the integrated business.

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New Jersey Law Journal

Financial Metrics Hold Steady for McCarter & English in '17

By David Gialanella | February 27, 2018

Firm leaders, meanwhile, say an ongoing emphasis on efficiency and profit margins have set up the firm well in the competitive market for legal services.

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Legaltech News

The Future of KM: Why We Need Partner-Proof Artificial Intelligence

By Jake Heller, Casetext | February 27, 2018

Law firms waking up to the potential of knowledge management will find their way to AI-driven services. That is, unless leadership stands in the way.

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The American Lawyer

GKC Founders, Burford Execs Launch Plaintiff-Side Litigation Firm

By Roy Strom | February 26, 2018

A year after selling Gerchen Keller Capital for $160 million, the Gerchen-Keller-Lenkner trio of serial entrepreneurs has launched a new litigation boutique that is already hiring.

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The American Lawyer

Debevoise Hits Record High Revenue, Profits Per Partner

By Meghan Tribe | February 26, 2018

Thanks to increased client demand, Debevoise & Plimpton saw gross revenue soar to $822 million and profits per partner jump to nearly $2.9 million, all-time highs for the firm.

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The American Lawyer

Bryan Cave, BLP Partners Approve Deal Creating New Global Legal Giant

By Roy Strom | February 26, 2018

The two firms have agreed to merge under the name Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, a one profit pool entity that will be co-led by a pair of high-powered women partners.

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New York Law Journal

Partner Profits Surge 18 Percent at Weil, Gotshal & Manges

By Christine Simmons | February 26, 2018

Gross revenue grew nearly 10 percent, reaching $1.39 billion amid a record year for the firm.

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