The debate over the issue of whether or not a law firm can have a mandatory retirement age has focused on the threshold question of whether the 'partner' is an 'employer' or an 'employee' under the ADEA. If the partner is a 'bona fide' partner then he or she is an 'employer' and not protected by the ADEA. However, if the partner is not a 'bona fide' partner under the relevant legal principles (which will be discussed later in this article), he or she may be protected by the ADEA and, therefore, able to challenge the mandatory retirement age policy.

Something is beginning to quietly brew with respect to large law firm partner compensation systems.<br>The last major revolution in partner compensation began in the 1980s, aimed at increasing partners' focus on marketing and new business development. But, in the attempts to energize their partners to go out and market, many law firms may have overdone it ' and today are struggling with some of the resultant dysfunctional behaviors their reward systems have motivated.

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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.'

Very few attorneys really understand what their hourly rates mean to a client. It is not a number, according to Peter Darling, a former litigator and current CA-based business-development consultant. Few clients select their lawyers based on fees. Rather, the decision is usually driven by emotion.

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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.

As I mentioned in my last Note from the Editor, this month marks the premiere of a new column for managing partners of law firms. 'Corner Office,' written by Mel Morrione, will provide insight into the world of managing partners and how their role impacts, among other things, marketing, business development, communications, growth and professional development. This month, Mel, who joins our Board of Editors, provides an overview of the role of the managing partner.&#133;

'You need to get lawyer buy-in.' An oxymoron? You bet. If you have any doubts, read David Maister's 'The Trouble with Lawyers' (The American Lawyer, April 2006). Still, pretty much everyone on the firm's marketing staff will hear this refrain frequently. It's well meant, but it's also code for 'please don't expect me to take full responsibility for your hair-brained marketing idea.' Of course, this never happens at Womble Carlyle Sandridge &amp; Rice, the progressive firm where I toil (right!), but I'm told it's fairly common at stodgy, traditional firms. <br>There are ways to tackle this challenge. Some are actually fun, if you allow yourself to plot imaginatively.

To understand why many managing partners might have difficulty answering this question, one needs to examine the resource pool within law firms from which managing partners are chosen. Among the popular choices are: those with the biggest books of business, the most widely recognized reputations, the best rainmakers, the best lawyers and the most effective client service partners. Most partners feel that anyone who has attained any of those levels practicing law ought to be just as proficient at running a law firm. Not quite!