The Four Cardinal Virtues of Law Firm Culture
Law firm “culture” isn’t that hard to define. Culture is what people at the law firm actually do every day — or, less sunnily, what people get away with doing. I’ve worked in organizations that struck committees to study and define the organizational culture, but that failed to appreciate that the most accurate definition of […]
Superstar or Renegade? Keeping Toxic Lawyers Out of Your Partnership
“Superstar employees are the obsession of the corporate world,” a recent article in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) begins. “They’re highly sought after, given the most attention and the best opportunities, generously rewarded, and expressly reassured after setbacks.” Does this remind you of any members of your law firm’s equity partner class? Especially those recruited laterally […]
Bigger vs Better: Should your firm merge?
First, see if it can answer “yes” to one essential question. So law firm mergers are back in the news again, to the continued fascination of the legal press. For every combination that’s completed and announced, you can count on several others bubbling under in conversations within executive committees and at luncheon gatherings of senior […]
Law Firm Innovation and the Bad Bank
I’m starting to see more large law firms seriously consider, or actually create, the role of “Chief Innovation Officer” or the like. This position is often responsible, among other things, for creating a strategy and framework for leading change within the firm, coordinating and managing all the firm’s current and future innovation initiatives, developing a […]
5 Pressing Priorities for Professional Providers (This is more than just another PR exercise)
If you like lists and you love alliteration, then you’re probably a legal management consultant. It seems that practically every article these days by people in my line of work features a numbered list of entries that all begin with the same letter. I admit that I often do the same thing in my presentations. […]