Features
Lawrence Mullman
&
Jon Lindsey
If you could bring in a new group of clients generating $10 million in annual legal fees, would your partners make it a priority? How about $15 million? Or $20 million? Those were the estimated historical revenues of three different groups of rainmakers (and supporting casts) assisted by Major, Lindsey & Africa in the first half of 2006 as they transitioned to new law firms. Such acquisitions of groups led by major rainmakers reflect a sea change in how the legal profession does business, particularly with respect to growth. No longer satisfied with a model of organic growth 'up through the ranks' or the more recent sporadic additions of individual partners, more firms are turning their focus to the acquisition of entire practice groups; bringing with them seven- and eight-figure practices. (Mergers of entire firms, while far more common than a generation ago, are a topic for another article. While they provide many of the benefits of a group acquisition ' and sometimes far more ' there are fewer and fewer attractive and willing merger partners to consider.) For most law firms, growth no longer focuses simply on the number of attorneys, but rather on increasing revenue per lawyer, profits per partner, geographic footprint and diversity of practice areas.
Features
Carl Peters
When firms first recognize they need to change in order to be more competitive, it appears that they have a seemingly infinite array of options. Cost-cutting, increasing billable hours, starting a marketing program and hiring a rainmaker are usually at the top of the list, but it often seems as though everyone in the firm has their own solution to the problem. In reality, there are only a few key steps that are appropriate and necessary for most firms. The real problem is that execution of these tactics is a long-term effort, not a 1-year program. Mounting a sustained effort requires a change in the behavior of the members of the firm and therefore a change in the culture of the entire firm. However, there are forces at play in every firm that act to prevent these changes. This article discusses how the culture of a firm locks it into place and prevents it from changing. Solutions for moving past these issues are also identified.
Features
Olivia Fox Cabane
In order to effectively network, you don't necessarily need to carve time out of your already-packed schedule for 'official networking.' Instead, just focus on meeting people and making connections in your day-to-day activities. For starters, networking need not be confined to 'business activities' or 'business days.'
Features
Joshua Fruchter
The increasing use of filters by companies to block spam has a downside for law firms engaged in legitimate e-mail marketing ' an increased risk that their e-mails will be improperly labeled as spam and either blocked entirely or routed to users' junk (bulk mail) folders and never read.
Features
Ari Kaplan
The language is clear: 'An advertisement or solicitation shall not depict the use of a courtroom or courthouse.' While using a courthouse in an ad for your law firm may be a clich' ' and fail to set you apart from the competition ' it hardly seems intuitive that doing so would violate advertising guidelines. That will be the case in New York, if a proposed rule goes into effect this month. Across the country, advertising rules continue to evolve, so pinpointing how to best spend your marketing dollars can be challenging.
Features
Douglas J. Landy
Many U.S. financial institutions that have participated in equipment leasing transactions (particularly in the large-ticket and municipal markets) in the last 20 years will be keenly aware that as the structures grew ever more complicated, Congress and the federal regulatory agencies grew intensely interested. Whether the institution had a major role in the transaction or simply provided a service, some degree of scrutiny could be expected, often in conjunction with a tax audit of its client. The risks to financial institutions from participating in complex structured finance transactions of all types became a source for concern for banking and securities regulators. The principal federal regulators responded in 2004 with a proposal that financial institutions investigate, and bear responsibility for evaluating, the legal, tax, and accounting basis of their clients' complex structured finance transactions. The goal: to limit the institutions' own credit, legal, and reputational risk from such participation.
Features
Jonathan Bick
Traditionally, job-termination notices took the form of a pink slip of paper that employees found in their mailbox or in the envelope carrying their paycheck.<br>Recently, however, tech retailer Radio Shack used e-mails to give more than 400 employees notice of their involuntary separation from the firm. That move probably wasn't the use of technology many in the e-commerce, or the bricks-and-mortar, world envisioned for the business sector.
Features
Jonathan M. Cohen
&
John P. Sheahan
The recent wave of investigations and lawsuits involving the alleged backdating of stock options promises to become one of the most widespread corporate crises in recent years. As these allegations mount, targets of the investigations will look to their insurance companies to help pay their potentially substantial defense costs and any resulting liabilities. <br>At the same time, insurance companies will be looking for ways to minimize, or even evade entirely, their coverage obligations. As a result, targets of backdating investigations must move quickly to protect their insurance coverage.
Features
Jonathan O. Hafen
As defined by the ADA, a qualifying disability is 'a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual.' 42 U.S.C. 12102(2)(B), (C). The ADA regulations define disabilities broadly, including a specific reference to 'neurological systems, mental or psychological disorders.' (29 C.F.R ' 1630.2 (h).) Because the ADA only provides such general guidance, litigation continues to arise as parties try to refine the concepts presented in the Act, such as whether a mental disorder is a qualifying impairment, whether an employee with a qualifying mental illness can perform essential job functions, and how the limitation of a major life activity caused by a qualifying mental illness can be reasonably accommodated in the workplace.
Features
Andrew Longstreth
New York's Dewey Ballantine and San Francisco's Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe have taken another step toward completing a merger. According to a statement released Wednesday morning, the management and executive committees at both firms announced to their respective partners that they intend to recommend approving the combination. A full partnership vote at both firms is expected before the end of the year.
