Law Firm Management

Kathryn Cole, a 25-year-old who earned her J.D. last year from the University of Michigan Law School, accepted a position at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP in Silicon Valley. Her starting pay was $135,000, but before she even began working she got a $10,000 raise. Then in January, just a few months into the job, her salary went up another $15,000.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP managing partner Mark Walker is old school when it comes to partner compensation. He sees no reason to change Cleary's seniority-based lockstep scheme, in which the spread between the highest- and lowest-paid partner is less than 3:1. It's a no-hassle system — no long meetings explaining bonus decisions and no disputes among partners over credit for bringing in business. And it is the foundation of Cleary's culture, Walker says, which emphasizes the collective over the individual. If the firm is not a magnet for hot lateral candidates who want to be paid like A-Rod, that's okay with Walker. 'My view is that if someone says I'm not going to Cleary Gottlieb because [another firm] is guaranteeing me a salary of X, then they don't belong at our firm anyway.'

Red Zone strategies require knowledge of inside counsel's personal considerations in making decisions to retain outside counsel. More than objective data on organizational retention patterns are needed - you need to understand the personal and subjective sensitivity to the man or woman across the table.

RELATIONSHIPS AND RETENTION - In the pursuit of maintaining relationships with inside counsel, or developing new ones, law firms need to seek as much information about corporate retention patterns as due dilligence can provide.

HIDDEN DECISION MAKING by inside counsel needs to be overcome by law firms. This is one of 4 categories outside counsel and marketing departments must identify. What are the questions to ask?

News about lawyers and law firms in the partnership arena.

Being one of a client's go-to law firms used to be a pretty secure situation. But gone are the days of lifelong client loyalties. In fact, disloyalty is increasingly the norm according to the BTI Consulting Group's latest survey of clients ' a situation that creates challenges and opportunities for savvy firms.

A young, dynamic partner is rapidly building a practice. She is active, visible, and well connected in the market. She aggressively pursues business opportunities. She is known for her keen intellect, is highly respected, and her work is first rate. Clients regularly comment on her ability to seamlessly blend pragmatic legal and business advice that advances their agendas in very positive ways. Other firms have periodically made runs at her beginning around her mid- to-senior associate years, but she began her career here and feels much attached to the firm.