Features

Few firms evaluate the long-term growth of competitive intelligence (CI) in firm business development, and even fewer have sought to build systematically on current efforts to create an intelligence function that can predict opportunities. This article seeks to illustrate how a law firm can build a robust intelligence function ' gathering both competitive and business intelligence ' that will provide the greatest strategic benefit over the short and long terms.

For today's young lawyers, that notion belongs to a different era, one that seems as far away as the New Deal and Tammany Hall. But it really wasn't all that long ago that this concept was the anchor of law firm life, a covenant that provided stability and security for the firm's members.

In the field of law, the resistance to networking might appear more prevalent than in other fields. Part of this resistance results from ethical constraints, but there is much to be said of networking's reputation as the unsophisticated tactic of the needy.

Creating a 'four-color glossy' resume with an accompanying picture of yourself smiling ear to ear is going to leave a lasting impression, but not in the way you might hope. You may be thinking; 'I would never do that!' But you would be amazed at how many of your contemporaries have acted on that temptation.

The question has been asked what my motivation was in writing the most recent Op Ed about the state of law firm marketing. Simply stated, it was written to deliver a wake-up call ' so that law firm marketing does not devolve into a back room staff function but assumes it rightful role at the management table."

You might not have followed, or might not even be aware of, a suit by former Sullivan & Cromwell associate Aaron Charney against his firm, and the firm's subsequent suit against Charney. Gossip aside, the case, which settled on Oct. 25, 2007, should be noted by law firms, if for no other reason, than to learn how not to handle discrimination and retaliation complaints.

What obligations does an employer have under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) to accommodate the impairments of employees who are 'regarded as,' but not 'actually,' disabled? This tricky question has created a split in the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, leaving employers with little uniformity or clarity on the issue.

In 2007, the National Labor Relations Board ('NLRB'), a majority of which was composed of appointees of President Bush, issued a series of important and, in some cases, unanticipated decisions. To the labor community, the decisions represented a significant roll-back of well-established employee rights, while to the management community, they represented hard-won but less-than-revolutionary changes in some settled rules.