Legal Commentary

Will Inside Counsel See The Annual "Rate Increase" Letter This Year?

Posted on October 09, 2008
  I'm guessing that a lot of law firm leaders are starting to think about hourly rates for 2009.  I know they've probably heard some rumblings about the economy.  Maybe they've noticed that their portfolios are worth about 40% less today than just a week ago...

The Value Challenge

Posted on September 30, 2008
The Marketplace section of today's Wall Street Journal  features the headline, "Food Marketers Cook Up 'Value' Campaigns."  Seems like, in today's world, value is is de rigueur.  We at Valorem certainly hope that it informs purchasing decisions in the legal world...

Law21--Dispatches from a legal profession on the brink

Posted on September 30, 2008

The Marcus Letter

Posted on September 30, 2008

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Commodity Legal Work--The Antichrist?

Posted on September 29, 2008
As many of you know, I was privileged to attend the Association of Corporate Counsel launch of the ACC Value Challenge this past Friday.  The entire program was recorded and is will be available soon on the ACC website.  One of the things that caused me to smile was the repeated reference to "commodity work"...

It's Time For The Tough

Posted on September 29, 2008
"When the going gets tough, the tough get going." This quote is frequently attributed to legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, but it appears to have been uttered first by Joseph P. Kennedy.  The source is less relevant than the concept...

Silver Lining in Black Economic Cloud?

Posted on September 15, 2008
In my last post, I picked up on Gerry Riskin's most recent post on our troubled economy.  Gerry first raised the red flag on the economy last August, and I have picked up on the issue from time to time, including posts about the Perfect Storm, the bad economy being a long term issue and a discussion of whether lawyers had any reason to smile yet in light of economic news...

Black Monday: Economy Heads South. Will Law Firms Follow?

Posted on September 15, 2008
Alan Greenspan appeared on This Week yesterday and indicated that the black cloud hanging over the US economy would not be leaving us anytime soon.  See his comments here.  These pessimistic comments led Gerry Riskin to restate his challenge to Law Firm leaders: Punchline:  You are getting fair warning - are you acting on it?  This is not a time for traditional strategic planning - it is time for scenario planning that will create "dynamic resilience" that may become the life support system your firm will need should the economy worsen...

ATTENTION In-House Counsel: Survey Requires Your Input

Posted on September 05, 2008
My friend Paul Lippe at Legal On Ramp brought an important survey for in-house counsel to my attention, and I thought it prudent to post the information.  (Here's the link.)  The survey is the effort of my friends at American Lawyer and fellow blogger (and friend) Rees Morrison...

Why Do The Secretaries Have Nothing To Do?

Posted on August 29, 2008
True story. I was interviewing a potential admin assistant.  She was asked why she was thinking of leaving her position as a very prestigious firm.  Her answer didn't surprise me since I had heard rumors of this--the firm was not that busy and she was the kind of person who liked being busy...

The Truth: You Get What You Pay For

Posted on August 28, 2008
This message is directed solely to in-house lawyers and any business people who might happen along.  If you're an outside lawyer, press the back arrow on your browser. I've said many, many times that real change on legal fees, on the economic relationship between lawyers and clients will come only when clients insist on it and lead with their feet (taking their wallets with them) when they don't like the way a firm is treating them...

Rating Lawyers

Posted on August 28, 2008
When I started practicing law, lawyers would spend their days busily chiseling their briefs into stone tablets.  I remember several times when a client needed a lawyer in another city, I would be told to go to Martindale Hubbell and review the firms in the City and find "the biggest" or one with a great client list...

Change Is Inevitable

Posted on August 24, 2008
On Friday afternoon, I played hooky.  I joined my family at Chicago's fabulous Navy Pier.  The thought started while I was at the top of the Ferris Wheel with a clear view of the skyline.  But it really hit me on the boat ride, where we heard a bit about Chicago's history...

Finding Value: Hopefully We Won't Need To Build A New Hubble Telescope

Posted on August 22, 2008
Mike Dillon, the General Counsel of Sun Microsystems, writes a blog called the legal thing ... by Mike Dillon.  Recently, Mike participated in a focus group meeting held by the Association of Corporate Counsel. These focus groups were pulled together to discuss ACC's return to value program that will be launched this fall...

A Followup On Truth

Posted on August 22, 2008
Can I admit that I occasionally ready Above the Law, a blog about law firms?  It's like The Enquirer, which I only read while standing in supermarket lines.  On alternate Tuesdays.  Okay, enough self-disclosure. ATL has a great entry about Citibank's recent analysis of the economic decline at large law firms...

Telling the Truth

Posted on August 21, 2008
Duane Morris laid off 18% of its marketing and business development staff yesterday.  Ed Schecter, the head of marketing, apparently said cost-cutting was "secondary" and the real intent was to build a more experienced, leaner team.  Of course, this is reported the day after Citibank's Dan DiPietro is quoted as saying the profits of Amlaw 100 firms (which includes Duane Morris) will be down 15% this year, even with all the cost-cutting and staff reductions being widely reported...

The Lie Of Litigation Budgeting

Posted on August 21, 2008
A client walks up to a litigator and says, "I have a lawsuit I need you to defend.  I don't expect there to be more than 5 depositions.  The contract involved has just three provisions, and there are probably only 500 pages of relevant documents...

Tom Peters on US Health System: What Would He Say About The Law Business?

Posted on July 31, 2008
I am a huge fan of Tom Peters.  Not a mindless disciple, mind you, but he is provocative in the best way.  He makes me think. Tom's recent rant about the healthcare system is worth reading, but in your mind, substitute the word "legal" for "healthcare...

Trust. Earned Or There Until Lost?

Posted on July 30, 2008
I have frequently used a pair of boots to illustrate the notion of perspective.  Boots are one thing is you're wearing a nice pair of broken in boots, quite another if you're looking at the bottom of a boot as you're being stepped on.  Same object, different perspectives...

An Email Pet Peeve: Auto-reply

Posted on July 30, 2008
"I will be out of the office until Tuesday, August 19.  If your matter is urgent, please contact my assistant, Robin Hood, at 222-555-7777, or reach me on my cell phone at 222-555-9999.  Thank you." You have a Blackberry--everybody does...

Great Billable Hour Joke

Posted on July 30, 2008
Did you hear the one about the General Counsel who went shopping for hours? " I'll have a dozen of the $380 hours and half a dozen of the $500 hours.  The $250 hours are looking particularly good this morning, so I'll have twenty of those."  Have you heard it? Neither have I, actually...

Clients schmients. Do Firms Really Care About Their Clients?

Posted on July 29, 2008
Suzanne Lowe of Expertise Marketplace reports here on the results of work by Patrick McKenna.  Here are three findings regarding law firms and their use of client teams: 63% of all firms (of all sizes) reported having NO budget specifically allocated to support their client teams Only 4% of firms (none over 500 attorneys) identified a budgetary item for satisfaction surveys, while only 6% spent any money on client research For the vast majority of respondents, the main reason to form client teams was to increase their own firm's revenues Suzanne ends her post with tongue firmly planted in cheek: McKenna and his co-author Michael Anderson exhibit laudable restraint in their closing comments: " ...

The World Lost A Good Man Today

Posted on July 25, 2008
Randy Pausch died today.  I feel terribly saddened.  On the other hand, I can't help but feel enriched by the enormous grace with which Randy led his life even as he knew death was on his doorstep. If you haven't yet watched it, you owe it to yourself to watch The Last Lecture.

We need zero-based thinking.

Posted on July 25, 2008
I just came out of a meeting that included by inside and outside lawyers.  I was stunned by the lack of self-critical thinking on the part of the outside counsel.  Not that inside counsel were immune to the notion, but I was hearing a lot "we're not the problem, it's other firms" or "the problem is really with the clients...

Both sides: you reap what you sow

Posted on July 22, 2008
For you GCs in the audience:  how is it possible for this to happen?   How is it possible a firm can spend that much money and you don't know the detail of what the firm is doing?  On a matter of this importance, where the fee is going to be large, you would have a detailed discussion with outside counsel about what work would be done, who would be doing it and how much it would cost...

End Of Billable Hour Caused By Sensitive Workplaces?

Posted on July 18, 2008
In an article sure to drive Dan Hull crazy (go here for Dan's thought on sensitively accommodating the needs of Gen-Y-ers),  The AmLaw Daily has published "Lawyers and Pros Say Flex Schedule's Time Has Come."    Here's the line that caught my attention: Lawyers won't have to be slaves to the billable hour for much longer, according to the panel of experts participating in "Flexing the Workplace," a roundtable discussion held in the New York offices of Davis Polk & Wardwell and sponsored by the National Association of Women Lawyers...

Should We Value Collaboration?

Posted on July 15, 2008
Are two heads better than one?  Four better than two?  I am sure there are exceptions, but frequently the answer is yes. But let's sharpen the question, shall we?  If your client has a tough problem that she wants your help to solve, will you come up with the best ideas by yourself or working with someone else?  If the latter, will your ideas be better if the person is a young associate or your most experienced partners?  When dealing with issues of strategy and tactics for pursuing complex business litigation, I think it is evident that the best ideas happen when the smartest and most experienced people brainstorm together...

Shouldn't Money-Back Guarantees Be The Norm?

Posted on July 12, 2008
    Why don't lawyers provide this for their clients?If you're a great lawyer, or even if you're just fairly good, why not provide this guarantee?  Surely you cannot guarantee an outcome, and your client must understand that, but the level of your service, effort and commitment certainly goes a long way toward creating a satisfied client...

Legal On Ramp: The On Ramp To The Future?

Posted on July 12, 2008
 I joined Legal On Ramp.  I know this isn't "call CNN and issue a press release" kind of stuff.  But it does afford me the opportunity to offer some thoughts on the future of how we provide services to our clients and how are clients are likely to evolve as consumers...

CNN's Zakaria: Perfect storm hitting U.S. economy

Posted on July 11, 2008
You can read an interesting interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria here.  I was interested to see his use of the "Perfect Storm" metaphor to describe what is going on with the economy.CNN: How bad is the U.S. economy right now?Zakaria: It almost looks like a perfect storm...

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