Jun
22
It does not take Perry Mason to crack the case that the BigFour intend to be major players in the global legal market. Steve Varley, Ernst & Young’s managing partner in the UK and Ireland made that clear: “We aren’t competing with the business models of traditional law firms, we...
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Jun
14
As the saying goes, “All roads lead to Rome.” Well, not all law firms are positioning themselves to be global providers; however, for those that are, there appear to be two distinct paths: (1) the global Goliath; and (2) the global elite. The former–personified by Dentons–is the upstart firm that,...
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Jun
09
The signs are legion that the Legal Services Act of 2007 (sometimes referred to herein as The Act)--which did not take effect until October, 2011-- is evincing a major impact upon the UK legal market and beyond. Scores of firms have secured licensure as “Alternative Business Structures”, enabling them to...
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Jun
02
The English language is undergoing an overhaul. That’s not news to anyone who has been around kids or is superficially exposed to popular culture. But when, as recently occurred, many of those neologisms and acronyms are included in the dictionary, it’s time to take notice–and not just for Scrabble or...
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May
26
Years ago a friend took me to Venice Beach to watch, in her words, “the curious freak show of men and women power lifting and flexing by the Pacific.” It was a strange scene and made me wonder, “Why are they doing this and who are they doing it for?”...
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May
18
“Collaboration” as applied to lawyers is like “student athlete” to big-time college football and basketball players: more feel-good myth than reality. Because lawyers–like elite athletes–have been taught that competition yields winners and losers; theirs is a zero sum game. Yes, there are teams/firms, and one is encouraged to be a...
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May
04
The cultural values the US has adopted from the UK are many and deep. That includes, of course, our legal system. What law student does not remember “The Rule in Shelley’s Case” and other precedent derived from English Common Law? (What was the holding in Shelley’s Case, anyway, and was...
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Apr
27
Walter Cronkite, a legendary reporter turned news anchor at a time when that meant something substantially more than simply reading stories written by others, was asked why so much news was bad. He responded there were so many positive things that occurred every day that they simply did not elevate...
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Apr
19
Horace Greeley, the American author, famously counseled pioneers to “Go West, young man” to advance the nation’s manifest destiny by expanding to the other coast. Law firms, of course, have figuratively heeded Greeley’s expansionist rhetoric for many years. Initially, they forged what would become national firms and, later, established outposts...
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Apr
13
Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, begins with its protagonist waking up to find himself transformed into a hideous insect. The novella chronicles his attempt to cope with this vexing transformation, especially as it relates to those close and familiar to him. Could this be the fate of law firms? The scope...
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