History is littered with failed law firms. Dewey, Howrey, Thelen and most recently, the Canadian law firm Heenan Blaikie, succumbed for various reasons. In the case of most of these failed law firms, the decision to cease as a going concern was largely reactive as they fell apart at the seams. While
Heenan Blaikie: How to Avoid the Same Fate
History tells us that Heenan Blaikie’s failure was not an isolated event. It was preceded by more publicized failures, like Dewey, Howrey and Coudert Brothers, which failed due to a combination of their own unique reasons and maladies found in all law firms. For good reason, many in Canada and the US note
Heenan Blaikie: “There but for the grace of God, go I” –John Bradford
Last week’s decision by major Canadian law firm Heenan Blaikie to dissolve received a lot of coverage in the Canadian press as well as among legal commentators. Yet discounting its demise as being peculiarly Canadian is unwise. The market and competitive dynamics that contribute to a Canadian law firm’s success or failure are very similar
Heenan Blaikie: The Latest Law Firm in Transition
The media reports about Canadian law firm Heenan Blaikie present a classic case of a law firm facing transition. The well-known and regarded Canadian law firm has seen its foundation shake as lawyers depart, reports of dropping business abound and speculation mounts about merger or dissolution. Without being on the inside it is difficult
Part 2 -The Churn – Shrinking Law Firms
For no matter what we achieve, if we don’t spend the vast majority of our time with people we love and respect, we cannot possibly have a great life. But if we spend the vast majority of our time with people we love and respect — people we really enjoy being on the bus with
The Challenged Law Firm in 2014–The Bank Workout of the Troubled Law Firm Loan (Part Three-Implementing the Strategy)
Last month, a large bankruptcy law firm in Michigan filed chapter 11, citing the fallout from the dissolution of another law firm. The irony of a bankruptcy law firm filing bankruptcy aside, its struggles show that any firm is susceptible to financial stress. In many instances, law firm stress leads to or follows a
The Challenged Law Firm in 2014–The Bank Workout of the Troubled Law Firm Loan–(Part Two–Devising a Strategy)
Like a lot of things, the workout of a troubled law firm loan is neither mechanical nor predictable. Facts unique to the situation guide a bank’s approach, and finding the correct strategy is as much art as it is science. But because the problem loan is not likely to resolve itself, the smart banker seizes
The Challenged Law Firm in 2014–The Bank Workout of the Troubled Law Firm Loan (Part One-Preliminary Steps)
What successes or challenges can we expect for law firms in 2014? Writers like Dimitra Kessenides and Jennifer Smith recently have written that 2014 may be a challenging year for law firms. But as reported just this week, including by Jennifer Smith, the 2014 Outlook from Citi Private Bank and Hildebrandt Consulting projects law
At the Edge–Avoiding the Fall (Part Two)
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
At the Edge–Avoiding the Fall (Part One)
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