When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.
John F. Kennedy
The Crisis at Kaye Scholer
I was sitting reviewing law business related articles recently. As the stories of doom and gloom and struggling law firms big and small continue to occupy
Law firm growth is a popular strategy or tactic among law firms seeking to compete in today’s ultra competitive legal services market. Growth often is achieved through mergers, practice group acquisitions and lateral hiring. And in some cases, the growth initiatives result in new offices being opened in markets previously not served. New
Hope is the denial of reality – Margaret Weis
As a law firm in decline continues to struggle, there are two primary scenarios in which denial furthers the rate, or degree, of decline:
Denying the Risk Associated With
Modest attrition at law firms is to be expected-it happens continually and few firms are exempt. But when the lawyer departures spike, or the particular resignations are from your most important lawyers, management must respond quickly.
Lawyer departures don’t just happen for any reason. Unexpected and damaging departures often can be traced to problems a
One ought never to turn one’s back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!
The first key
Although pockets of law firms are enjoying increased demand, revenues and profitability, the general news about the industry as a whole is tepid. A recent article by Chris Mondics about law firm financial performance cites a common problem these days of law firms lacking enough work to keep their lawyers busy. The article (drawing on
Ward Bower’s Existential Threats to Law Firms provides an excellent review about a few of the economic and demographic issues that threaten today’s law firms. As Mr. Bower notes, some of the law firms previously fixtures in league tables and in the AmLaw 200 have either failed, been acquired or otherwise have disappeared from
With the on-going market challenges associated with the legal profession, firm leadership is smart to periodically stop and evaluate the state of the firm. Is it in a transitional state?
Here are four questions that can help serve as a baseline diagnostic. Is your firm:
It has become an all too frequent occurrence — the story of yet another law firm closing its doors. The headlines rarely convey everything — displaced personnel, inconvenienced clients, and the pain and disruption for the firm’s owners.
What drives this result? How has this become almost commonplace?
I believe any one of five things
The American Lawyer article about recent attrition at Kirkland & Ellis gained attention in no small part because Kirkland’s reputation for success runs counter to the idea that people want to leave. While departures from even the most successful firms is inevitable, the depth of attrition at Kirkland reported by The American Lawyer was surprising.
