What Your Firm Can Learn from Toyota
Six Sigma is a disciplined methodology for eliminating defects in any process ' from manufacturing to transactional law. Following this efficiency matrix, LEAN Processing, as developed by Toyota, is without question the most important approach to business process of our times.
Sponsors of Participant-Directed 401(k) Plans Should Not Ignore the Proposed Disclosure Requirements
Employers sponsoring participant-directed 401(k) plans face a quandary with respect to all the new fee disclosure requirements being put forth by the Department of Labor. This article discusses the situation.
Features
In the Marketplace
Who's doing what; who's going where.
Lessee Remains Liable to Lessor Following Failed Mitigation
In <i>Giant Eagle, Inc. v. Phar-Mor, Inc.</i>, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the lower courts erred in their determination that once a lessor mitigates its damages by entering into a substitute lease, the lessor cannot claim damages from the original lessee for the period covered by the new lease if the substitute lessee subsequently defaults. Here is a discussion of the case.
Features
What's New in the Law
Recent high-profile cases of interest to you and your practice.
Features
Court Finds Compelled Purchase Option in SILO Case
In the recently decided AWG Leasing Trust case, No. 1:07-CV-857 (N.D. Ohio 2008), a federal district court found against a taxpayer that engaged in a cross-border sale-leaseback of a waste-to-energy facility located in Germany. Herein is a discussion of the case and its aftermath.
Developing a Coordinated Corporate Social Responsibility Program
Last month, the author discussed what a corporate social responsibility (CSR) program entails and how the key to creating a successful CSR program is to establish stakeholder value across the board. This followup article explains the seven steps to be taken in establishing such a coordinated CSR program.
Client Speak: Client Retention -- A Most Inadequate Concept
High-quality work for existing clients is the most important and most appreciated selling tool there is. For that reason, the common terminology of "client retention" is inadequate. Here's why.
Legal Sales & Service: Process Improvement for Law Firms
The marketing and business development department exists to serve ' we are the service arm of a service business. Our clients are both internal (the firm) and external (the firm's clients). The things we do and they way we do them affect ourselves, the firm and our clients, so we must care about our processes."
A Leap of Faith
Interviews with senior associates and individuals in their first or second year of partnership (particularly equity partnership) reveal that they frequently face a number of surprises ' even shocks ' when they enter their new, long-desired status. Here's what to do.
Need Help?
- Prefer an IP authenticated environment? Request a transition or call 800-756-8993.
- Need other assistance? email Customer Service or call 1-877-256-2472.
MOST POPULAR STORIES
- Law Firms are Reducing Redundant Real Estate by Bringing Support Services Back to the OfficeA trend analysis of the benefits and challenges of bringing back administrative, word processing and billing services to law offices.Read More ›
- Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel'Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel is a continuation of the discussion of client expectations and the disconnect that often occurs. And although the outside attorneys should be pursuing how inside-counsel actually think, inside counsel should make an effort to impart this information without waiting to be asked.Read More ›
- Divorce Lawyers' Obligation to ChildrenDo divorce lawyers have an obligation to disclose client confidences when it is in the best interests of the client's child to do so? The short answer of the rules of professional responsibility is 'no' because a 'yes' answer is deemed to be fundamentally inconsistent with the premises of the adversary system in which the divorce lawyer functions. The longer answer is that the rules encourage ' but do not require ' a divorce lawyer to counsel the client to authorize the disclosure because it is in the best interests of both parent and child.Read More ›
- Upping the Legal Training AnteWomble Carlyle's technology training and online learning programs were in need of an upgrade. Unprecedented firm growth, heightened emphasis on developing lawyers' core technology competencies, and a need to streamline and automate existing e-learning processes led the firm to initiate a fundamental shift.Read More ›