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State Of Law Firms Now
The legal industry faces powerful and rapid changes. Mergers and acquisitions have increased the number of national and international mega law firms ' and this trend is expected to increase. Competition in local markets is fierce as large law firms open satellite offices or buy mid-sized or small firms in cities across the nation. Accounting firms are big competitors. They employ hundreds of attorneys to serve their many existing clients and to hunt for new prospects. The shrinking number of companies created by mergers and acquisitions in the business sector makes getting new clients more competitive. With a limited client base, everyone is targeting everyone else's clients and clients are demanding better service at lower prices. But most leaders are beginning to really understand this is where the profession stands. Staying at the top in such a competitive and challenging market, however, may be something that is new to many of today's law firm leaders.
The mega law firms look more and more like companies they serve with the centralized leadership and stronger hierarchal control. They are big and more bureaucratic. The attorneys become more and more like employees than owners, with less involvement in the running of the firm. This is not a bad thing. In fact, it is almost necessary for survival. Centralized leadership will always win. Lending everyone your ear is certain to cause factions, leading to fragmentation of strategy, efforts and results.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.