Category: Management
I’ve just talked with two legal industry "executive search" recruiters. They have never been busier in the last 5 years! And quality laterals are being sought!
That tells me that the economy is in recovery mode; that lateral partners are still being pruned from large law firms; that partners are getting tired of the politics in larger law firms where they see no rational basis for decisions being made that may very well impact their economic future; and that most law firms have yet to act as enterprises rather than as hotels for sole practitioners. Laterals with good books of business can just as easily move to another firm that will provide them with a larger umbrella and greater opportunity … or even start their own boutique law firm.
This further suggests that while the economy has forced changes in law firms, the sea change some discuss hasn’t yet taken place … and may never. As I’ve said before, we’re in an evolutionary, not revolutionary, mode. Write me with your thoughts and experiences on this.
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Save the date! The Midwestern Law Firm Management Conference will be held in Chicago on September 21st and sponsored by West … Save the date! And plan to attend at the Chicago Bar offices.
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With John Wooden’s passing, we have lost a true friend. While countless accolades have been heaped on him for his basketball genius, Coach Wooden was, in essence, a teacher, revered for his refreshingly pure and simple principles. These values guided everything he did, from developing young players into contributing and principled adults, to motivating executive teams to work together toward a higher purpose.
Coach’s Pyramid of Success is a foundation for a balanced and generous life in full, and his passion in later life was to help educate people in these principles. We are blessed that Coach Wooden’s commitment to developing and nurturing the next generation of leaders continues through the John Wooden Global Leadership Program, which he chose to locate at UCLA Anderson. A hallmark of the program is the annual John Wooden Global Leadership Award bestowed on an inspiring CEO who embodies Coach’s values.
The UCLA Anderson website now features a compilation of videos of Coach’s discussions on leadership at the John Wooden Global Leadership Awards, and with students and alumni, as well as an opportunity to express your thoughts about Coach Wooden and his leadership teachings. UCLA has also created a website in tribute to Coach Wooden, with an extensive collection of video and commentaries from players and many others who knew him.
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A Texas law firm lost its defense against a lawyer whom it hired. The plaintiff worked for another law firm and was lured away based on alleged representations of the future of the firm and the collegiality of its founding partners.
In today’s economic turmoil with an increase in lateral movement, does this mean there will be an increase in litigation from dissatisfied lawyers claiming negligent misrepresentation when their compensation is less than desired?
As my mother used to say, be careful what you sow – it impacts what you reap. If you encourage a lateral move and it produces less than outstanding results for all concerned, can you expect to be sued? And, depending on how you do entice the move, are you at risk of being sued by the first law firm for interference with contractual relations?
We may be encouraging a new specialty in the law … lawyers who sue law firms for something other than legal malpractice!
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I had the pleasure of keynoting a recent conference sponsored by LexisNexis. During a panel discussion among practitioners, technology consultant and myself, the topic of the cost of new technology was discussed. One of the suggestions I made was that the successful law firm of the future will use technology to create and enhance its effort at knowledge management. The firm that is able to retrieve its pre-existing knowledge and use it again will be more efficient, reduce its costs and therefore provide excellent results for clients at a lower price.
Then, the question arises: Who owns the knowledge, who owns the forms, the precedent knowledge? Does the client who paid for it own it? Does the law firm own it? Or does the lawyer who created it own it? This becomes more important in an age of greater lateral movement.
Some clients have as a condition of engagement that they (the client) own the intellectual property … and that the law firm must share it with other law firms who handle the client’s affairs (e.g., product liability litigation) in other parts of the country.
Do you have a firm policy on this? What do you do concerning your intellectual property when a lawyer leaves your firm? Is your policy different when the lawyer is a partner as contrasted to when the lawyer is an associate?
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Join us on LawBiz Forum in the discussion about legal education and the current reexamination of its efficacy for teaching management skills for success. Will the law school tumble into the morass of being a trade school (heaven forbib!) by including such skills in its curriculum? Let us know what you think …
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If you’re a golf fan, you’ve just witnessed an outstanding competition. Whether you support Tiger Woods or are turned off by his personal challenges, you have to admit that he causes the sport of golf to be viewed by many more people than when he’s not playing.
I just read an article about a study that suggests that other golfers do not play to their potential when Tiger plays because they think he will win the tournament. Rather than the competition bringing out the best of everyone, others seem to do worse, giving up before they begin.
And, the same is true in law firms … when associates "give up," believing the "star associate" will get the prime assignment. This is counter-intuitive to me. What has been your experience?
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West Pub. Co. has announced the pre-release offering for my new book, Growing Your Law Practice in Tough Times.
I’m very excited about the new book … and encourage you to take advantage of West’s offer. You can also see the new offering at LawBiz.
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Doctors, like lawyers, have little or no business education in medical/law school. Today’s Wall Street Journal (Education for Executives) discusses doctors journey back to school (business) in order to learn skills that were omitted from their medical education. They need these skills in order to run their medical practices, medical groups and hospitals.
Doctors outreach for management training demonstrates a recent shift in thinking: "…we are much more similar to other businesses that we are different." Taking the business side of medicine more seriously can benefit not only doctors, but also patients, a fact slowly being understood in the medical profession.
Why is it that doctors are ahead of lawyers in this understanding? Why is it that medical schools are incorporating management principles into their teaching and few, if any, law schools do? Why is it that lawyers continue to be reactive, rather than be proactive? Worse still, why is it that lawyers fail to react to their clients wishes? Bar disciplinary proceedings continue to show that more than 50% of clients’ complaints relate to poor management practices. Why?
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It’s reported in today’s Los Angeles Business Journal that SBA loans have evaporated. “Banks really are stingy…” is the headline. Small Business Administration guaranteed loans, funded by banks, have fallen by 53% from the 2008 level, a year in which the number of loans also decreased from the preceding year. This is further evidence that banks’ credit for business and for real estate ventures has been dried up. With TAARP money going to make financial institutions healthier rather than a stated purpose of loosening credit strings to jump start employment and business activity, the financial executives just don’t get it. They wonder why Main Street is upset with them as they sit back and take large bonuses; if they also were to spend the funds to help as intended, I suspect the American people would not be so upset. Also, in U.K. where there will be a 50% tax on bonuses. Wow. Wake up Wall Street and bankers before we tumble backward …
Law firms seeking either an extension or increase in their lines of credit are walking in this same environment. It’s tricky, at best, and possibly disastrous. Creating and enhancing a good working relationship with your banker is even more critical in these times. That’s the point I make in my book, The Successful Lawyer Client Relationship: A LawBiz Special Report. Just as lawyers are being told to create a “partnership” with clients, so, too, they should create a “partnership” with their banker. This will pay dividends.
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