Associate Overcompensation?
February 03, 2006
As described in the following article abridgements from A&FP sibling publications, associate salaries and rates are headed up once again, pressures from cost-conscious clients notwithstanding. I have a possibly discomfiting view to offer on this, but first let's take a look at the bandwagon effect now in progress in some major U.S. legal markets.
Associate Break-Even: A Matter of Perspective
February 03, 2006
In my role as a consultant, I work with clients who wish to make critical business decisions but sometimes suspect the reliability of their internally generated numbers. Last month, Ed Wesemann wrote about just such a situation, when he referred to the common belief that associates do not make money in their first 3 years. Intuitively, this does not make sense to many law firm managers, yet their reports often support this contention.
Flexibility in Flexible Spending
February 03, 2006
The Internal Revenue Service has provided guidance in Notice 2005-86 on the interaction of the 2.5-month grace period for a health flexible spending arrangement (health FSA) (established earlier by Notice 2005-42) and an individual's eligibility to contribute to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
Building a State-of-the-Art Anti-Bribery Program
February 03, 2006
Anti-bribery laws have serious consequences for anyone doing business internationally. Violations come to light during routine M&A due diligence, when competitors complain or employees blow the whistle, or when companies voluntarily disclose as a part of their Sarbanes-Oxley reporting obligations. When they do come to light, strong internal controls may shield executives from some liability and restore confidence amongst shareholders and regulators.
<b>Commentary: </b>In Law Firm Marketing Today, the Glass Is Half Full
February 02, 2006
When legal marketers are ahead of their lawyers, or when lawyers are ahead of their legal marketers, their expectations of one another are out of sync. These days, the departure of a marketer, whether by choice or with a nudge, presents an opportunity for a firm to reassess where it is, where it wants to go and how it will get there. Each new marketing hire represents an opportunity for more precise alignment of a marketer's skills and characteristics with a firm's strategic and financial objectives.
Overmessaging
February 02, 2006
Dwelling on your "message" (or what you want to say) at the onset of any reporter's inquiry, or at any point during the reporting process to the exclusion of all of the other component parts of the reporter/source/communications professional interaction (deadlines, non-verbal cues, relationships, etc.), is sure to result in less than optimal coverage. This can only be described as "overmessaging" or "over-PRing" a situation.
Using the Write-Speak-Sell Approach To Business Development
February 02, 2006
In today's world, corporations live and die by the success of their brands. Unfortunately, the world of law remains remarkably detached from what is essentially the lifeblood of the majority of industries. It is often difficult to differentiate one top-tier law firm from another, which is in sharp contrast from the marketing efforts of other service sectors such as accounting, management consulting or investment banking. Branding is essential to business development, regardless of industry sector.
The LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings
February 02, 2006
For more than 135 years, attorneys have relied on the LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory to provide them with authoritative information on the worldwide legal profession. Martindale-Hubbell's exclusive Peer Review Lawyer Rating System evaluates attorneys and law firms in the U.S. and Canada with its independent peer review process.
