Every year law firms of all sizes merge. For some of the smaller law firms merging, the decision to combine may have been driven by the need for an effective succession plan. In these cases in which long-time management is unenthused about the prospect of turning the keys over the next generation, merger can
Lateral Hiring NBA Style-Building with Law’s LeBron, Melo and Others
If SportsCenter had a sister station named LawCenter reporting on news in the legal profession, its Stuart Scott (what is lawyerese for Boo Yah!?) would report on the big lateral hires throughout the year and not, as is the case in the NBA, for a brief period after the end of the season. Unlike players
Law Firm Merger-A Succession Planning Alternative
In recent years, law firm mergers have been on the uptick and do not seem to be abating. Big mergers reap a lot of publicity because the firms joining together often have household names. But as Catherine Ho reports, not all the law firm mergers involve the behemoths that grab the headlines. Ms. Ho’s
Law Firm Succession Planning-Managing the Different Loyalties
Law firm succession planning is a lot different today than it was in years past, even just a few years ago. In addition to the issues covered previously on Succession Planning, difficulty arises from the fact that the interests of the people that make up a firm have never been less aligned. The lack
Law Firm Succession Planning-The Unfunded Pension Plan
For more than a few AmLaw 200 law firms, non-qualified retirement plans exist that are largely unfunded. Although “a good idea at the time” when established, the plans now can represent a significant burden. As James Cotterham wrote in his Retirement Basics for Law Firms a decade ago, the unfunded pension plans can be a
Law Firm Succession Planning: Facing a Contracting Market
In a recent post about law firm succession planning, I observed
“Succession planning and execution in 2014 is far more difficult than it was a decade or more ago. It is not that it is harder today to identify credible candidates to succeed existing leadership; searching for the best talent is a task that has
Law Firm Succession Planning-The Aging Partner Ranks
Law firms planning for succession cannot rest easy even when the “next-in-line” process is settled or the next leader selected. No doubt thinking about these things is vitally important for a law firm hoping to weather transition. But it is just part of the task of succession planning.
One area of succession planning given short
Succession Planning – A Law Firm Must
While in Seattle with my partner Roger Hayse we stopped by the LexBlog World Headquarters. We enjoyed meeting the whole team and while there, Colin O’Keefe conducted the following interview of me on succession planning.
Law Firm Succession Planning: Competing in the Age of New Law
Today, succession planning for law firms is more than finding the charismatic leader who is liked by most. Any new leader (actually, any leader whether new or not) must have the vision to compete in the age of New Law.
Jordan Furlong’s An Incomplete Inventory of New Law is an excellent summary of new players
Law Firms and Leaders: The Next Generation (Part Two)
Succession planning among law firms is uneven-some law firms do it well, some not so well and some not at all. Even the law firms that go about planning for succession won’t always do a good job when it comes to executing on the plan. But because succession of leadership can have serious ramifications, a