Law firms shutting doors on both coasts, lawyers looking for work on both coasts, marketing staff reductions on both coasts of the U.S. and in the U.K , have been the conversation on this blog and on the Legal Marketing Association Listserv. There is even an “emergency” Webinar on the topic being hosted
Class Act … Thelen (for now)
Law firm life can resemble family life in many ways. For many people, 50 hours or more in the office is normal. Saturdays, Sundays and evenings are devoted to the office, with some partners known to sleep with their BlackBerrys under their pillows. Husbands and wives have met in the halls (or at the holiday
Thanks for the invite, but I’d rather read a good book
Class Act … Clifford Chance
I’m going to take the liberty of highlighting “Class Acts”, and “Not So Classy” acts, by law firms when it comes to their staff.
For instance, Heller’s lay offs last Friday … Not So Classy
Clifford Chance layoffs today … Class Act
The Clifford Chance associates, most of whom graduated from law school less than
Be a Class Act
When this article caught my attention this morning, Mass Layoffs at Heller Ehrman, I couldn’t help but wonder, “Could it get any worse for our Heller friends?” Unfortunately, the answer turned out to be “Yes”:
At least 100 Heller Ehrman employees were laid off on Friday, without receiving the 60 days’ wages required by
Will the Wall Street backlash spill onto their lawyers?
There was a national backlash against AIG and “Wall Street” this week when the news of AIG’s spa retreat broke.
The country was asking “how could they be so greedy” to spend $400,000 for a sales reward meeting when they just took countless billions in a bailout from the feds?
Intellectually, I get it, but
Rise of the Mid-Sized Firm
Just like most Americans, the legal industry has been obsessed over the past decade with super-sizing. The AmLaw 100 has super-sized head count, PPEP (profits per equity partner), RPP (revenue per partner), revenue generated, etc.
We’ve already seen the first casualty of the economic downturn with Heller Ehrman’s inability to make it to the altar
Belt Tightening
So, how’s the situation with your belt? Getting tighter?
Six months ago I attributed tightening my belt to my fat and happy diet. Today as I was cooking a pot of chicken ¼’s for a batch of soup I was pleasantly pleased with the idea that tightening my belt means I might have to buy
Law Firm Mergers in the New Economy
The numbers are out. Jobs in the legal sector are down, and law firm mergers are up for the year. According to a new report issued by Altman Weil:
Third quarter deals are down from 26 last quarter, but, year to date, 2008 law firm combinations are outpacing 2007 by 58 to 44.
A for Effort
I really enjoyed Seth Godin’s post today on Is effort a myth?
Delete the outliers–the people who are hit by a bus or win the lottery, the people who luck out in a big way, and we’re left with everyone else. And for everyone else, effort is directly related to success. Not all the time,