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LAW SCHOOL DECEPTION
Last Sunday, the NY Times asked: Are law schools deceiving prospective students into incurring huge debt for degrees that aren’t worth it? Of course they are. The U.S. News is an aider and abettor. As...
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NUMBERS TELL A STORY
When challenged to tell a story in as few words as possible, Ernest Hemingway replied with six: “For sale: Baby shoes — never worn.” I’m not Hemingway, but in his spirit of brevity, I offer five...
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GREED ATOP THE PYRAMIDS
Three recent reports are more interesting when read together: the National Law Journal‘s annual headcount survey at the largest 250 law firms, the Citi Law Firm Group’s third quarter report on law firm...
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LAW SCHOOL DECEPTION — PART II
The National Law Journal just published its annual list of “go-to” schools — those that supply the most new associates to large law firms. Clearly, lower tier students aren’t alone in struggling to...
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BIG LAW INCIVILITY
Attorney incivility is nothing new. Noting that the problem dated to the nineteenth century, Chief Justice Warren Burger addressed it in 1971 remarks to the American Law Institute. He criticized the...
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IMPROVING PROSPECTS — BUT FOR WHOM?
Life is just a matter of perspective. For example, here’s some apparently good news: – The legal sector added 1,500 jobs in April. – Ashby Jones at the Wall Street Journal Law Blog cited a recent...
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FAMILY FRIENDLY?
Lawyers know that definitions dictate outcomes. That’s why the Yale Law Women’s latest list of the “Top Ten Family Friendly Firms” includes some surprising names. At least, some surprised me. It turns...
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SUFFERING IN SILENCE
The 2011 Am Law associate survey is out. Billable hours continue moving up; morale continues moving down. As I explain in ”Suffering in Silence” (appearing in the September 2011 print edition of The...
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FROM THE SPORTS PAGE
Subtle clues revealing the cause of a fundamental problem confronting the legal profession are everywhere, even in the sports section. Recently, the New York Times wrote about 26-year-old Josh Satin,...
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DO THEY COUNT AS BILLABLES?
In “New Lawyers, New Classes,” the Wall Street Journal reports on firms sending their attorneys through business-education type programs. Describing one full-time four week example, it states the...
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COMMENDABLE COMMENT AWARD
Rare candor at the top deserves recognition. The September issue of The American Lawyer honors the magazine’s 2011 Lifetime Achievers — an impressive group. The list is alphabetical, which made Richard...
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THE COST OF DISSATISFACTION
This month began with the publication of The American Lawyer‘s annual Mid-Level Associate Satisfaction Survey results. The dismal descent to historic depths continues. Let’s end it with this question:...
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HUMBLE LEADERSHIP
Over a year ago, I considered the then newly-named dean of the Harvard Business School, Nitin Nohria. He’s been an outspoken critic of MBA curriculum that fosters short-term thinking at the expense of...
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BONUS TIME — AND ANOTHER UNFORTUNATE COMMENT AWARD
Above the Law’s David Lat wins my Unfortunate Comment Award with this assessment of Cravath, Swaine & Moore’s recent 2011 bonus announcement: “My own take: these amounts — which are the same as the...
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THE LAW SCHOOL QUANDARY
Law school deans are getting conflicting advice. Let’s sort it out. “Provide more practical training” has become the latest mantra. At the recent annual meeting of the Association of American Law...
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THE BIG LAW PARTNER LOTTERY
In last Sunday’s The New York Times Magazine, Adam Davidson suggests that many of today’s most intelligent and educated young people have entered an employment lottery. He draws on the best-selling...
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DEWEY’S DILEMMA
Dewey & LeBoeuf has talented lawyers, great clients, and 2011 average equity partner profits exceeding $1.7 million. So what required a March 2 firmwide memo from Chairman Steven H. Davis in...
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DEWEY: COLLATERAL DAMAGE
The vast failure of knowledge among the nation’s brightest law students remains remarkable. Their comments in the wake of Dewey & LeBoeuf’s stunning implosion make the point regrettably clear. Even...
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BAD NUMBERS REVEALING WORSE TRENDS
By now, everyone interested in the job prospects for new lawyers has seen two recent headline items: – Nine months after graduation, only 55 percent of the class of 2011 had full-time, long-term jobs...
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HAPPINESS IS…CRAVATH?
Big law’s future has become big news. On September 25, The New York Times published a special section that included several articles on large firms; two are particularly interesting. “Culture Keeps...
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BONUS TIME – 2012
It’s always interesting when two respected legal writers approach the same story in different ways. That happened in the coverage of recently announced associate bonuses. Ashby Jones at the Wall Street...
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THE CULTURE OF CONTRADICTIONS
In an ironic twist, the latest Client Advisory from the Citi Private Bank Law Firm Group and Hildebrandt Consulting warns: “Law firms discount or ignore firm culture at their peril.” Really? Law firm...
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ARE LAWYERS BECOMING HAPPIER?
A recent scholarly study and the 2013 Am Law Midlevel Associates Survey together pose an intriguing question: Is the legal profession becoming happier? If so, that would be a welcome development....
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THE NEWEST BIG LAW PARTNERS SPEAK
A recent survey of associates who became partners in their Am Law 200 firms between 2010 and 2013 produced some startling results. The headline in The American Lawyer proclaims that new partners “feel...
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LESSONS FROM THE BUSINESS WORLD
The current issue of the Harvard Business Review has an article that every big law leader should read, “Manage Your Work, Manage Your Life,” by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams. Unfortunately, few...
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A CASE OF MOTIVATED REASONING
A recent survey, “What Courses Should Law Students Take? Harvard’s Largest Employers Weigh In?” by Harvard Law School Professors John Coates, Jesse Fried, and Kathryn Spier, has assumed a life that its...
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THE ILLUSION OF LEISURE TIME
Back in January, newspaper headlines reported a dramatic development in investment banking. Bank of America Merrill Lynch and others announced a reprieve from 80-hour workweeks. According to the New...
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LABOR DAY
Labor Day marks the end of summer. It’s also a time to reflect on our relationship with work. Lawyers should do that more often. In that regard, some big law leaders will find false comfort in their...
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ASSOCIATE PAY AND PARTNER MALFEASANCE
Cravath, Swaine & Moore raised first-year associate salaries from $160,000 to $180,000 — the first increase since January 2007. As most law firms followed suit, some clients pushed back. “While we...
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TREATING SYMPTOMS; IGNORING THE DISEASE
On May 22, 2017, The Wall Street Journal ran an article about the legal profession’s enduring problem: psychological distress. For decades, attorneys have led most occupations in the incidence of...
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