Overcoming the Barriers to Organizational Change
Last month, we explained that in order to stay ahead of the competition in today's economic environment, a law firm needs to be flexible and agile in adapting to change, whether through a corporate restructuring, adopting new technologies or processes, or introducing new products or services. We discussed a number of important ways of doing so, and we conclude this month with a final major area: IT.
Orientation Revisited and Reinvented
Many firms have instituted elaborate machinery for their recruiting (entry-level and lateral) and orientation, but there is a long way to go toward stellar results regarding orienting, integrating, and retaining those hard-won recruits. Some of the difficulties are generational; others can be traced to the traditions of partnership culture, which often lacks openness about management and how the firm handles the business of law. This article focuses on pumping up orientation programs.
Professional Development: Being Civilized in a High-Tech World
Being civilized means living, learning and working with others in an environment which is conducive to interaction and camaraderie. Proper etiquette means using all the high-tech tools we now possess in a manner in which we can build relationships and show others we are available and open to them. Technology should make our lives easier not more complex, so think before you turn on your Ipod next to that stranger on the plane.
The Place to Network: Network Your Way to an International Practice
In today's Internet age, from strictly a networking standpoint, the world is officially your oyster. Never before has it been so easy for attorneys to communicate with clients and colleagues from all over the world to attract, develop and secure international business.
Career Journal: Across the Pond
Law-firm marketing in the UK has witnessed some important developments over the last three years. Firms of all sizes, from large international players to smaller niche firms, have made sizeable investments in their business development departments. U.S. firms with a presence in the UK and Europe have also invested heavily in this key area.
Op Ed: 'Miranda' Rights
What I think is that for the most part, women in law have feared being themselves because if they showed their 'feminine side,' they would be perceived as not good enough or smart enough to succeed. I am here to say that's just rubbish."--Elizabeth Anne 'Betiayn' Tursi
Current Trends in IPOs
In 2007, Mergermarket was commissioned by Nixon Peabody LLP to conduct 'IPO Executive Insights 2007,' a survey of senior corporate executives (CEOs and CFOs) of 100 companies that had undertaken an IPO in the past three years (the 'Survey'). The Survey was designed to provide insights into key IPO market trends and issues related to the process of going public in the current regulatory environment that emerged after the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ('SOX').
Riding the Fulcrum Seesaw
Troubled businesses also may have turned to the distressed debt market instead of filing for bankruptcy protection due to recent changes to the Bankruptcy Code, which made bankruptcy a more complicated, expensive and uncertain alternative. As a result, when the next wave of Chapter 11 filings comes, hedge funds and other distressed debt investors will act to protect their unique interests and strategies, which will bring new dynamics to bankruptcy cases.
Franchisor Price Fixing: What Does Leegin Really Mean for Franchising?
By now, everyone seriously involved in the practice of franchise law is aware of <i>Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc.</i>, 2007 WL 1835892 (S. Ct. June 28, 2007). The Supreme Court in <i>Leegin</i> held that vertical resale price maintenance is no longer unlawful in and of itself. Although hailing the decision as overruling a nearly 100-year prohibition on minimum price fixing, the pundits writing in the wake of <i>Leegin</i> have nevertheless hedged their bets on just how revolutionary the decision is. Their constant mantra is this: <i>Leegin</i> does not open the door to unrestrained resale price maintenance, but rather changes the rules under which courts will evaluate sales agreements setting minimum prices. No longer will courts treat them as unlawful <i>per se</i>; they will now evaluate their legality under something called 'the rule of reason.' If a court (or jury) concludes that an agreement establishing a minimum price is an 'unreasonable restraint of trade,' then the supplier has violated the antitrust laws. If the threat of treble damages from such a finding isn't sobering enough, writers warn us that courts may interpret state 'baby Sherman Acts' as still making resale price maintenance unlawful <i>per se</i>, regardless of what the U.S. Supreme Court says.
