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Features
Recent moves by various cities, states, and municipalities to legalize or ban same-sex marriage have generated a flood of press, but little concrete advice as to the potential implications of these laws and related court rulings. The dearth of specific and actionable analysis of the implications of these shifts in the law places law firms, as well as most large enterprises, at a competitive disadvantage by forcing them to react as these laws change. This issue is an especially pressing one for large law firms with offices in many states because the definition of "spouse," and thus the availability of "spousal" benefits, may differ in diverse localities.
As a first year associate at a large law firm, I once asked a very successful junior partner the secret to his success. His response ' also the title to a Harvard Business Review article ' was: "Everyone who makes it has a mentor." That's when I noticed that he did indeed have a mentor ' a close working relationship with a very senior partner, who taught him how to achieve success in a law firm environment. Now, as a legal search consultant, I find that mentors are an increasingly important part of law firm life. Mentors boost overall firm profitability by helping associates ' among the firm's most valuable resources ' succeed. In fact, associates with long-term mentors are more likely to make it to the coveted partnership ranks. Thus, mentoring improves recruiting, aids in associate retention, and can ' if properly utilized ' promote workplace diversity. Simply put, firms with successful mentoring programs can gain material marketplace advantages.
Features
A steadily increasing number of law firms are offering partners the opportunity to take a sabbatical. A few firms are even requiring them to do so. And more lawyers are taking them. It's a "win-win" situation.
The evolution of law firm management has been slow and deliberate, usually built around established business management models. For most firms, the model is flat: A few senior-level administrative managers work closely with the partnership's executive management and make most of the decisions. But recently, several firms have adopted a new management model: practice group administrators.
When, in December 2003, U.S. companies were given only a few weeks to become compliant with the newly-enacted CAN-SPAM Act, many companies may have hastily implemented compliance programs in order to get up to speed by the time the Act became effective on Jan. 1, 2004. However, many companies may not have looked for ways to benefit from some of the Act's lesser-known provisions and, in fact, some wrinkles inherent in the Act. A careful review of the details of the Act will reveal ways companies can utilize its provisions to their best advantage.
One of the main concerns of many companies is the ever-increasing cost of patent enforcement. The probative costs of patent litigation can have a chilling effect on innovative businesses and can result in forced settlements, ie, entering settlement rather than incurring attorneys' fees, costs and lost employee time. So the question is: if your company faces the prospect of defending a patent infringement action, is there an alternative to the expensive and time consuming process of litigating a patent in federal court?
Choosing the right place to arbitrate disputes concerning international commercial transactions is of fundamental importance. The choice has significant legal and practical implications. Fortunately for American corporate counsel and their clients, an ideal place of arbitration lies close at hand, just north of the 49th parallel. Canada should be the preferred place of arbitration for U.S.-based organizations involved in international commercial disputes.
Of the top litigation firms in the country that boast a blue-chip roster of Fortune 100 clients, how many are composed of more than 50% women lawyers, 25% gay or lesbian lawyers, and a Native American shareholder? I only know of one: Caldwell, Leslie, Newcombe and Pettit (CLNP) in Los Angeles.
There is not a single statistic that says that women lawyers have achieved equality in terms of pay, position, power, or prestige ' not one. From its roots in 1987 as the brainchild of ABA President Robert MacCrate and its first chair, Hillary Rodham Clinton, the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession has worked to assess the status of women lawyers and support efforts to help them achieve full and equal participation and opportunities in the legal profession. The Commission's lodestar has been that organized and concerted efforts could make a difference in combating the causes and effects of gender bias, stereotypes, harassment, and inhospitable work environments that have impeded the professional careers and aspirations of women in the bar.