Recently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $600,000. No, I replied, I just spent $600,000 training him. Why would I want somebody to hire his experience? THOMAS J. WATSON SR.
How many lawyers have you watched move from one firm
Note: This is Part Two of a blog that was originally published as a guest blog on Kevin McKeown‘s Blog Leadership Close Up. We wrote At the Edge–Avoiding the Fall to revisit a success story of a law firm dealing with transition and emerging stronger from a near crisis and how the
We originally posted this blog on Kevin McKeown‘s blog Leadership Close Up. Kevin has been a tremendous resource for us and has guided us greatly as we work at delivering meaningful content about the legal industry and the significant changes it faces.
Some words simply lose impact over time.
Change is such a
I originally posted this blog as a guest of the Cordell Parvin Blog. Cordell is a great guy who has a terrific practice as a a tremendously successful career and business development coach to lawyers. Thank you Cordell.
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Wow – where does time go? It seems like yesterday that my good
A smart merger of two law firms requires careful study about compatibility. Fits between two law firms seldom are perfect. But if the cultures, financial metrics, clients and compensation systems generally are in sync, the opportunity for a successful merger exists. While one of these merger variables actually may be strained, harmony among
A law firm considering a merger has a lot to think about. Evaluating the differing cultures, financial metrics and compensation systems is a must. Merging two law firms without vetting the client fit is not only unwise, but it also is not likely to end well. Yet, finding an acceptable match in the
Last week was noteworthy because two major anticipated mergers were called off; Orrick/Pillsbury due to reported conflicts and Dentons/McKenna for what may be best described as “cultural reasons.” But even if there were no conflict issues and cultures meshed well between two firms, most proposed mergers won’t get to a closing if their respective compensation
Mergers of law firms garner a great deal of press and comment. As noted by Debra Cassens Weiss, law firm mergers during 2013 have been numerous. Robert Denney’s Primer on Law Firm Mergers provides a useful guide about approaching law firm mergers. Just last week, yet another merger was reported, this one involving
Law firm mergers are being announced all the time. As we saw in Jennifer Smith’s Big Law Mergers Questioned, their unveiling tends to stimulate extensive discussion. The pace of mergers is ahead of last year and as Catherine Ho wrote in Law Firms Experience Big Jump in Mergers, the number of combinations in 2013 is noteworthy. Mergers of regional firms, mergers of firms with international reach, mergers borne of strategic vision and potential mergers possibly encouraged by necessity—reasons aplenty seem to be fueling the current merger activity.
A successful merger depends on a lot of things, not the least of which is the ease and thoroughness with which
Continue Reading Law Firm Merger Diligence–Are the Cultures Compatible?
To merge, or not to merge? That is the question. More and more law firms face that issue these days. We often advise law firms facing that watershed possibility and take them from considering merger in the abstract to addressing its reality. But as Larry Bodine and Robert Denney recently reported, roughly 50% of mergers fail. Consequently, properly evaluating a potential merger is extremely important. A flawed analysis, a few undeserved assumptions or allowing momentum to overtake critical examination can doom a merger to failure. Conversely, a lack of confidence in a proposed merger because a systematic and thorough analysis was not performed can be a lost opportunity for both firms.
Continue Reading Resolving Law Firm Transition By Merger–Important Compatibility Issues for Management’s Consideration
