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Sep 16

Law Firm Networks: A Quiet Giant

Law firm networks are seldom mentioned in what has become a popular parlor game for legal pundits: speculating who – and what structure – will disrupt the global legal market. Why is this? Law firm networks have quietly multiplied in number, size, geographical reach, and – to a lesser extent... read more →
Sep 08
Sep 01

Who Do I Sell To? The Legal Service Providers’ Dilemma

The sales process in law used to be so simple: partner at law firm has a relationship with the General Counsel or a subordinate in-house attorney. Company has a legal matter and ships the matter over to the firm who handles it start-to-finish. An invoice is presented. It reads: “For... read more →
Aug 11

To be, or not to be: A Prospective Lawyer’s Dilemma

Ok, so the decision to pursue or forego a legal career hardly elevates to Prince Hamlet’s existential choice of living a pained life or ending it to endure something perhaps worse. But let’s face it: embarking upon a legal career is no longer a reserved seat for a comfortable, predictable... read more →
Jul 24

Ain’t No Cure For The Summertime Blues: Legal Remix

For those not old enough to remember Eddie Cochran’s classic “Summertime Blues”–or the cover by The Who--listen to it on YouTube and it will put a smile on your face, if not propel you to abandon your desk and race into the sunshine. Guitar strumming he sings: “I'm gonna raise... read more →
Jun 29

Service Partner Resurrected?

Law is a knowledge- based business. As such, one would imagine that those with the greatest depth of knowledge–and highest value to clients–would maintain an elevated status in their firms and be compensated accordingly. But such is not the case in today’s legal marketplace where who and what is of... read more →
Jun 22

By Stealth or By Storm? The BigFour and the Legal Market

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... read more →
Jun 14

Global Goliath and Global Elite Law Firms

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,... read more →
Jun 09

More Big Ripples From Across the Pond

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... read more →
Jun 02

Legal Clickbait?

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... read more →