Legal Research

David Maister Retires

By Steven Matthews

News that author & professional services consultant David Maister is retiring likely doesn’t shock many of us here at Slaw. It seems seem, however, that this is a moment for reflection.

David’s writing has influenced so many in this idustry, including the group of bloggers here at Slaw.  The fact that we’ve referenced his name 26 times over our short life certainly says something.  I also know few managing partners that haven’t invested their time to read David’s body of work.

For myself, I distinctly remember reading David’s Managing the Professional Service Firm soon after I  started working for law firms in the mid ’90s.  It became one of the first legal business books to really capture me; though to this day The Trusted Advisor remains my favourite.

David is also embedded within one of my favourite blogging experiences, which I detailed in October 2005 here on Slaw. My questions on law firm KM programs and the impact on realization rates were kindly answered by David, along with his blessing to re-publish this response.  Being taken seriously by David, led to responses from industry heavyweights Gerry Riskin, Stuart Kay and Bruce MacEwan.

Simon Chester probably summed up my experience better than anyone could, saying: “You couldn?t pay for the advice you?ve received.“  To this day, I believe that.

So happy retirement from all of us here at Slaw, David.  You deserve it!

Full post as published by Slaw.ca on January 07, 2010 (boomark / email).