Developing a Thriving Client Team Program
Get yourself comfortable and spend a few moments with a fellow warrior in the battle to build and maintain a thriving law firm client team program. Thrive is used purposely to emphasize a point. Programs and initiatives come and go, often without meaningful impact, but to thrive is to make steady progress. To prosper, flourish, and grow vigorously (courtesy of dictionary.com, for this purpose). Client teams need to thrive to succeed because anything less will not produce the revenue and relationship goals the program promises to deliver. Success will depend on continuous support from many sources, motivated teaming, rigorous processes and probably fundamental cultural change. That would be tough enough if it was the absolute top priority of any business. Would you be surprised to learn that client teams have not yet reached this exalted status in most law firms?
Role for Patents In Videogame Industry
For videogame developers, publishers and investors, the most important asset is the intellectual property rights they own or control in a game. All of the elements of a videogame ' the story, audiovisual elements, underlying computer code and even 'gameplay' elements (ie, that specify the way a user interacts with and experiences a game) ' are subject to one or more forms of intellectual property protection. Traditionally, intellectual property protection for videogames has been based upon either trade secret, copyright or trademark. Patents, however, are quickly becoming an important part of the videogame industry.
Finding Uncertainty in Certain Damage Provisions
For years, careful landlords and tenants have used liquidated damages as a means to avoid the uncertainty of events beyond their control. If the tenant held over beyond its term, or the landlord breached the tenant's exclusive, liquidated damages were considered a dependable remedy to avoid costly and time-consuming litigation. Unfortunately, what seems certain to lease drafters is anything but certain when presented in court. A recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia underscores that point.
Closed vs. Open Compensation Systems
Our September edition included a report by legal journalist Leigh Jones on the appeal of 'closed' compensation decision-making systems that forego transparency in the interests of peace and efficiency. In the following roundtable discussion, seven present and former members of our Board of Editors comment on half a dozen aspects of this subject.
Online Legal Matching
In the relatively newfangled sector of e-commerce, how often does an entrepreneur or attorney who represents e-commerce clients get to witness the birth of a new industry? <br>Well, there's a new player in the $173 billion legal services industry, and its initials are OLM ' a euphonic moniker for online legal matching.
Holding the Line in Hong Kong
Almost 1 year into his tenure as Hong Kong secretary for justice, Wong Yan Lung talked with <i>China Trade Law Report's</i> ALM affiliate <i>Legal Times</i> reporter Anna Palmer on Sept. 11 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington. <br>The 43-year-old former barrister answered questions about the status of the legal system after it transferred to the basic law of Hong Kong in 1997, Hong Kong's relationship with China and the larger international legal community, and U.S. lawyers entering the country's legal market. What follows is an edited transcript of that interview.
Professional Development University: Ahead of the Curve
Why are law firm partners, associates and staff retreating? Has the battle become so intense that the commanders believe the troops need to pull back, refresh and reorganize? Or cut their losses and move on? Is it a time away from the daily grind of billable hours and client demands that provides everyone with a minute to breathe on the firm's dime? Is it reward or retribution? Is there a moment or two of professional development that will be recognized as CLE? Is it the new leadership's moment to deliver the 'new message' to a captive audience? Is it a time for partners and executives to take a few steps back so they can make greater progress on key business objectives in the coming months? This article answers those questions.
The Birth of the Inclusionary Firm
The recent death of Peter Drucker, one of America's greatest business philosophers ' a man who substantially changed the practice of American management ' brought forth an abundant burst of adoration and glorification from all corners of the business and journalistic world. Articles and memorials quoted extensively from his works.
Sprinting Toward a Brick Wall
The Baby-Boomer generation entered the practice of law in unprecedented numbers, carrying lofty expectations and the collective willpower to engender unprecedented billable hours. Now this tsunami of active lawyers is moving toward senior status, phase-down and retirement. Despite the complex emotions engendered by retirement, the Baby-Boomer generation of lawyers ' and the law firms in which they have participated or help build ' <i>must</i> plan their future.
Associate Compensation Increases
Among professional service firms, there is a definite increase in competition for talent. But competition for talent could indicate a commensurate increase in salaries and billing rates that will probably put tremendous pressure on law firms to be more efficient and effective in the delivery of legal services. This pressure will change a law firm's business model and culture. How will the staffing and business models change, and how will law firms use these trends to improve their competitive position? These issues are the focus of this article.
