Amazing Firms, Amazing Practices

General Mills' Roderick Palmore

According to Roderick Palmore, executive vice president, general counsel and chief compliance and risk management officer at General Mills Inc:

"The statistics speak for themselves.  They say our progress in the profession has been disappointing."

Attention Managing Partners:

More than 100 general counsel executives of Fortune 500 companies and managing partners of U.S. law firms are convening next month in an effort to come up with specific ways to improve diversity in the legal profession Managing Partners

The 100 GC’s (in addition to Palmore from general Mills), will include the likes of

General Mills Inc.
The Boeing Co.
Prudential Financial Inc.
Microsoft Corp.
Johnson & Johnson
Tyson Foods Inc.
The Coca-Cola Co.
Bank of America Corp.

See the full story at Law.com in Amanda Bronstad’s piece today called GCs and Law Firm Managing Partners to Convene Over Diversity (also the source of Palmore's photo in this post)

The Wall Street Journal has a post called: Big-Law Associates Facing 2008 Salary Cap by Dan Slater.

Here is a key paragraph from that post from which my title was derived:

"We called around to firms to find out whether associate salaries, called economically-irrational in some quarters, have finally (or, at least, for now) hit a ceiling. The answer seems to be yes."

The comments under the post range from:

"I think associates should just worry about keeping their jobs instead of clamoring for increases in salary"

to

"I expect salaries in NY will bump up to 190 before the end of the year. That will cause other cities to match. The following year NY will again bump to 230, and other cities will again follow. The pattern has been established, and there is no way to stop it. It’s pure economics. Plain and simple."

PUNCHLINE:  I am empathetic with recent grads who must repay large loans and face rampant inflation.  However, I believe the only thing that matters is "the client" because collectively the clients will drive demand and the parameters under which legal services are sold.  As the world flattens, clients' choices expend and as Cisco and GE and other powerful clients have clearly demonstrated, if the profession can't summon the imagination to change the equation clients will change the equation for them.  I reference two of my previous posts:

Offshoring in India Changing Legal Services in the West
OUTSOURCING: "Lawyers are service providers. We are not gods"

Image Credit:  The image in this post was copied from the original WSJ post

Footnote:  At the moment I am on assignment with a prominent South African law firm...  you should see how wide their eyes get at the mention of the scale of associate salaries referenced in this article.

Here’s the actual quote: 

Lawyers are smart, but this herd mentality seems absolutely irrational, economically speaking — and not because the compensation is too high. The top law firms have been stuck in copycat mode for years. As soon as one of them raises salaries for associates, the others fall in line almost immediately.

Later in the article NYT asks: 

But think about this for a moment: Is there any other business in which every competitor matches salaries and bonuses almost identically?

In response to:

Evan R. Chesler, Cravath’s presiding partner, told The New York Times last month that the firm had originally wanted to “thank our lawyers for the hard work this year and the good year we’ve had.”

NYT offered:

It’s a nice thought but somewhat specious. Partners at law firms are a notoriously greedy bunch — that’s why they accept so few new partners — making it hard to believe that they are willing to part with their money so easily. I suggest there is something else at play: Law firms match bonuses to secure bragging rights.

My View:  Given the economic challenges the legal profession is about to face I believe large salary increases and bonuses are risky…  a handful of firms can play the game because they have spectacular revenues to encroach upon but if the main stream gets caught in this game we are going to see casualties.  Over my many years of working with law firms globally there is a season you want to avoid like the plague – that’s “shrinking pie” season (when the cycle leaves less for partners to share).  Everything becomes more painful – rewarding stars means starving others and laying partners off (or de-equitizing) requires more courage because the world is a lot tougher for those who are being disenfranchised.  Somehow when the pie shrinks, a very negative game of dominos ensues.  Huge associate salaries and bonuses accelerate the shrinking of the partner pie which I argue has its perils.

Read the entire article: Lawyers Compete, Except in Bonuses

The New York Times Business section included an article yesterday called:  For Lawyers, Perks to Fit a Lifestyle.

The article alluded to a variety of perks including money, candied apples, milkshakes, car discounts, valet services, wine, office parties, in-office gourmet meals on silver platters, nap rooms, child care, emergency nanny services, sabbaticals and even an occasional masseuse.

Perhaps this was the most important perk mentioned:

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, a 600-lawyer firm based in New York, offers employees a service akin to a personal issues coach and psychotherapist through a deal with Corporate Counseling Associates of Manhattan. The consulting firm has a battery of staff psychologists and social workers to provide advice on issues including stress, anxiety, depression and divorce.

While many companies have offered employee assistance programs over the years, few have Ph.D. psychologists on staff.

A spokeswoman for Fried, Frank, Paula Zirinsky, said, “We want employees to be successful in their personal as well as their work lives.”

PUNCHLINE:  Some of my law-firm clients have very serious challenges dealing with individuals for whom "psychological intervention" should be mandatory.  In these severe cases, ostensibly productive members of the firm are causing harm to client relationships and firm personnel with long term costs that are hugely underestimated by their firms.  Perhaps offering such perks is a way to make it just a little easier to address these firm-threatening challenges.

Read the entire article...  perhaps your firm can offer many of the perks mentioned - most are not that expensive and I'll bet the return on investment would be healthy indeed (pun intended).

click on image for larger view

LOGITHISER – a new term for law firms

The Logical Empathiser. The accepted wisdom is that anyone who possesses great reason and logic is quite devoid of humanity and warmth. The Logithiser is living proof that wisdom, in this case, is fallacy. Yes, Logithisers are capable of shutting down their emotional mechanisms to perform feats of objectivity and accurate thought. But equally, they have great powers of empathy.
Faced with a stressed colleague or a concerned client, the Logithiser readily sheds their tough exterior, listens quietly and offers sound, careful advice.

I did not (would not) make this up.  This unique approach is used by the Eversheds firm (based in the UK) to attract recruits.  If you liked Logithiser, perhaps you will like these:

KNOWLIVATOR The Knowledgeable Motivator
INNOVATEER The Innovative Volunteer
PERFORMIBUTOR The Performing Contributor
PROACTILOPER The Proactive Developer
PROFESSIONARY The Professional Visionary
PRIORICATOR The Prioritising Communicator
WINNOMAT The Winning Diplomat

The "Graduate Recruiting" portal at the Eversheds site features videos as well.   The shooting approach is for us to view the video as if we are part of its production – take a look – see what I mean!

PUNCHLINE:  In a profession based on precedent and tradition where few are willing to risk being unique, one firm has.  Like it or hate it, give them credit for the courage to stand out.  BRAVO EVERSHEDS!!

Based upon (and thank you to) Roll On Friday - original post: on this subject. Eversheds recruitment effort

Take this Harvard test and get your own (possibly surprising) results in five minutes.

Thank you to The Complete Lawyer for "Test Yourself For Hidden Bias" in the Surveys and Research section.

Supplemental to my post "Sharp Pin Approaching Associate Salary Balloon", my friend and Edge colleague Robert Millard has created a post which may impacts the context for discussing associate salaries.  He explains his title: America's Two Legal Professions with the graphic above.  Read his post for a detailed explanation.  Sometimes critical change is too subtle to notice - I think Robert has illuminated it for us.  (Click on image to increase size - here or in Robert's post)

Today's front page Wall Street Journal Online article is compulsory reading for all law firm Managing Partners and H.R. professionals:

Hard Case: Job Market ?Wanes for U.S. Lawyers - Growth of Legal Sector Lags Broader Economy; Law Schools Proliferate
By AMIR EFRATI, September 24, 2007; Page A1

While the article admittedly says:

“For graduates of elite law schools, prospects have never been better.  Big law firms this year boosted their starting salaries to as high as $160,000.”

It goes on to say:

“But the majority of law-school graduates are suffering from a supply-and-demand imbalance that's suppressing pay and job growth. The result: Graduates who don't score at the top of their class are struggling to find well-paying jobs to make payments on law-school debts that can exceed $100,000. Some are taking temporary contract work, reviewing documents for as little as $20 an hour, without benefits. And many are blaming their law schools for failing to warn them about the dark side of the job market.”

PUNCHLINE:  My pre-law was comprised of a business degree which included a healthy dose of economics – it doesn't mean I am right but here are my views (you decide what they are worth):

1)      The balloon of increasing salaries at top firms (and "top firm wannabees") is going to SHRINK if not BURST.  Fewer firms will compete with the top tier starting salaries and therefore average starting salaries will fall (in real terms -  adjusted for inflation).

2)      Mainstream firms (including many if not most of the AMLAW 200 and other major firms around the world) will find their appetite for enormous associate salaries waning in favor of dipping slightly deeper into the pool of candidates and offering top-third students in good schools much more than they might otherwise make (but  less than recruits at the firms who continue to compete in the perceived feeding frenzy).

3)      It’s not just the money!  It’s the student loan!  Students want respect, training, good work, a chance to know the names of their children, future prospects and a way to service their enormous public and private debt.  So pay well (but not like you are trying to hire Angelina Jolie for the lead in your next movie), find a creative way to “help them with their student loan” and return your focus to where it has always belonged – making your firm a great place to practice law.  (The following illustration relating to student loans is one of nine very useful illustrations included in the article - click on image to enlarge):

Footnote:  How quickly things change:  A three-month economic history on this blog site:

(I've got a song lyrics stuck in my head "What goes up must come down" from Spinning Wheel by David Clayton Thomas of Blood Sweat and Tears (click for full original lyrics and you can get it stuck in your head too)

Two notes of optimism today for the legal profession:

“Forget the old stereotypes of law firms as inhospitable to women,” said Suzanne Riss, Editor in Chief, Working Mother magazine.  “As Working Mother examined the practices of many of the nation’s law firms, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that a number have been quietly changing their policies in recent years to reflect changes that are afoot in society as a whole.  The 2007 Working Mother & Flex-Time Lawyers Best Law Firms for Women are making women’s issues a priority, and the success of their policies will hopefully become reflected in the number of women, from associates all the way up to partners.”

See the full press release including the 50 Best Law firms for Women  (Note - this is a PDF)

More than three-quarters of the UK's top 50 law firms have introduced flexible working… Regional-based firm Mills & Reeves tops the table in terms of numbers of fee-earners taking up flexible working in the last year, according to a poll conducted by The Lawyer. Of the firm’s 407 fee-earners, 153 are no longer working traditional nine to five hours. This is the equivalent of 38 per cent of the workforce.

See the full story: Top UK firms embrace flexible working   (UK's: The Lawyer.com)

Punchline:  It's refreshing to read about some significant progress in this area - I grow weary of those who suffer from "hardening of the attitudes".

“Ford & Harrison, a 190-attorney labor and employment firm, has tossed out billable-hour requirements for first-year associates. The program aims to close the practical-skills gap of law school education and increase value to clients. The firm also hopes it will enable associates to handle meatier matters more quickly.“ according to Leigh Jones of The National Law Journal.

I have the privilege of knowing C. Lash Harrison (pictured) and his remarkable stature within his firm.  When I read about this bold initiative I was in no way surprised that it was Lash who had the gravitas to pull this off.  It may be prophetic that the tag line on the Ford & Harrison firm’s website reads:  “THE RIGHT RESPONSE AT THE RIGHT TIME”

"Everyone sits around and complains about the problems," said C. Lash Harrison, managing partner of the law firm. "I figured, what the heck, maybe we can try something."

Observation:  The issue of newer lawyers recording time on files is a bit of a hornet’s nest in most firms.  If the time is billable, it detracts from the billing partner’s realization rate and perhaps even hours billed.   Carefully measured associates steer away from files where they can’t record billable time.  This creates a tension that is based on economic reality but serves neither the associate’s training objectives nor the client’s desire to optimize value.  Thank goodness for fresh thinking and bold initiatives.  That makes C. Lash Harrison a hero to me.

Thank you to LAW.COM for its post Firm Kills Billable Hour for First-Year Associates

Ahhhh yes… seduction! 

Many great firms that I serve have a common enemy ”complacency” which Is indeed the result of decades of success.  Managing Partners complain that they are unable to get their partners to pay attention to their future.

Read Jim Hassett’s blogpost, Have lawyers been seduced by success? In his fantastic blog: Legal Business Development.

Here’s a teaser quote: 

If you like money, it's a great time to be a lawyer. In Citigroup's Law Watch survey of "153 US law firms broadly representative of the industry," law firm revenue has gone up 9.8% per year since 2001. But as Bill Gates put it: "Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose." We know lawyers are smart people. Do some think they can't lose?

Read why Jim argues that you ought to read:

This is a San Francisco Chronicle article in which Chronicle Staff Writer Heidi Benson begins:

“Mary Mocine, a 63-year-old Zen priest and former litigator, teaches meditation to burned-out attorneys at weekend retreats at Tassajara in Big Sur and Green Gulch Farm at Muir Beach.”

Litigators may be comforted by this:  "You can still be a warrior...but because you're at peace with yourself and you're centered, you're not coming from rage or fear or anger."

www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/riskin/Apparently, this is not a new idea: "A Zen approach to the law emerged in 1999, when Professor Leonard Riskin of the University of Florida Levin College of Law began discussing mindfulness meditation in his law classes."

Note:  Leonard Riskin and I are not related, to my knowledge, but that does not stop me from admiring his work

If your hectic schedule permits, make a moment to glance at the full article.

Note (added August 1, 2007, 5:45 PM Anguilla, B.W.I.):   I have received an e-mail from an associate director of media relations at Stanford Law School asking me to remove Stanford from the post (which I have done). She says that the information in the San Francisco Chronicle article was inaccurate. The reporter has been contacted and is issuing a correction. The media person says it is misleading to the public to say that Stanford Law has offered such a seminar: "We simply haven't . . .  ."

"New Lawyer Jobs
90 percent of 2006 law school graduates found jobs by February, 2007. That's the largest percentage since 2000 and way up from the 85% rate ten years ago. Of the 36,465 graduates who have jobs, 56% were in private practice and 10% were judicial clerks. Of the remainder, 14% went into a business position, 11% took a position in government, and the remaining 9% where in other positions including academic, public interest and the military. Of the 3721 graduates without jobs, 889 are in a full-time advance degree program, 868 are studying for the bar full-time and 860 are not seeking employment. This leaves only 1,104 out of more than 40,000 graduates who are in the job market. (Source: The National Association of Legal Career Professionals)."

PUNCHLINE:  The optimism of law firms continues…  even though the July 2007 issue of Inside Counsel includes survey results revealing clients are far less optimistic about the growth in the demand for legal services.  Add to the mix the de-equitization of partners in many major firms as they strive for higher stock value (might they be anticipating Clemente). (Source: CareerJournal.com: More Law Firms Thin Ranks of Partners to Boost Profits)  How long can this last?  When it ends, will firms that have not seen a major downturn in decades be able to weather the storm?  I think many will not.

Thank you to Bob Lang of Legal Resource Group (Quietly Searching The Nation's Largest Law Firms) for the quote above from the latest LRG recruiting Trends newsletter July 9, 2007 edition.

*According to the largest-ever research program in the UK legal profession, it appears that as the Beatles sang “money can’t buy you love”

I am not certain that the numbers would be different elsewhere in the world but at least are informed by recent and credible statistics.

The Lawyer.com article: Twenty four per cent of lawyers want to quit said in part:

 "Although the City [London] has seen a series of hefty salary rises and increases in partner profits, the rise in earnings has not contributed to overall happiness."

I speculate that there are three reasons for the responses of the Managing Partners (whom I believe have one of the toughest jobs on the planet):

1)  they are frequently under-trained and undereducated in management;

2)  they lead people who too often have little desire to follow

3) they have tasted a life that is a departure from the grind of finding work, recording hours and billing clients and they seek an environment that will value their learned managerial and leadership skills. 

Your thoughts?

Check out the full article

The Complete Lawyer tag line is: Tools and insights on professional development and quality of life and career issues that impact every lawyer’s success and satisfaction.

Is this a resource that may be helpful to some of your lawyers (if not all)?

Thank you to friend and Complete Lawyer contributor Stephanie West Allen (of Idealawg) for updating me about this.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP, on Friday said that 45 partners have been asked to leave or accept other positions there as part of a restructuring".

According to thier own web site, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP is among the largest law practices in the world, with more than 1,500 lawyers operating in 14 major cities worldwide including London, Frankfurt, Paris, Chicago, New York, Washington D.C. and Hong Kong.

Punchline:  I am not shocked that a law firm would cull its herd of partners but most do so discretely offering assistance to those affected to keep organic appearances.  This sudden and public move sends a message that is less than positive.  Why?

The story requires a subscription: Mayer Fires, Demotes 45 Partners

The Secret Step:  Asking the delegatee for ideas regarding the assigned task. 

Four reasons why your delegatee may have an unanticipated but valuable contribution to make

1)  Your delegatee may have performed a similar task in the past for someone who knew something different (and valuable)
 
2)  Your delegatee may be just creative enough to originate a valuable suggestion that you had not thought of

3)  Your delegatee sees the task from a different vantage point than you do and may have a better sense of how to tackle the task in the most efficient manner

4)  Your delegatee will be motivated by the respect you show in asking, whether you accept a suggestion or not.

Caveat:  It’s OK to say no.  Asking for suggestions does not mean you must accept them.  Your delegatee will appreciate your asking (and your consideration) even if you decide in your particular circumstances to proceed differently (perhaps as you originally intended).

Try it – our (Edge International) research indicates it works!!

Ernie the Attorney (Ernie Svenson) and The Adventure of Strategy (Robert Millard) both came at the same issue today but in entirely different ways.  Unbeknownst to each other, they posted on a common theme:  lawyers leaving their law firms.

Ernie referred to Denise Howell of the Bag and Baggage blog:  "So, now Denise is taking a new career path and I am really happy for her; she is going to be going in a more fulfilling direction… I love this passage":

"my professional roadmap henceforth will involve only things that are washed through a stringent "how much do I really love that?" filter"

Ernie's:  "We don't' really have time to do things that aren't supremely meaningful and enjoyable to us.  We barely have time for the things that matter most, and time is running out."

Robert's:  "Key to any strategy is to have the right people in place to be able to execute the strategy. If firms are bleeding top (partner) talent at such a rate, then this is something worth addressing."

Links to Referenced Posts:
Ernie the Attorney: "The Love Filter - Denise Howell departs big firm"
The Adventure of Strategy: So-Long and Thanks for the Fish
Bag and Baggage: Have Aeron, Will Travel

Seth Godin's blog post on Receptionists is 100% correct.  When I was a managing partner, my firm required a receptionist for our largest office.  I personally reviewed 215 applications myself and created my "A list", about 42 applicants, whom I invited for interviews late one afternoon.   I asked 6 of my partners to help me and we interviewed 6 applicants each.  Any WOW applicant was interviewed separately by at least two partners.  Were we insane to take so much partner time on this?  You decide.

PUNCHLINE:  For many years thereafter, we had a legendary receptionist whom clients loved on the phone and in person.  I personally received an average of two positive remarks about her every week.   Many of my partners and associates reported similar experiences.  She created the "positive experiences" that Seth blogged about.

I remember a call from New York one day and the lawyer started by saying: "before we get to the business at hand, I just have to tell you...".  I did not have heart to tell him "yeah, I know, you are the 100th person this year to tell me". 

By the way, I told that receptionist about every single positive comment I heard, personally or second hand (and no, that did not lead to extortion - she appreciated the recognition and the credible praise). 

Cynics - who are tempted to guess that she was the winner of a beauty pageant – don't go there –  she got the job as the best applicant and got her praise on merit - her performance was awesome.

My post earlier today, The Wall Street Journal Blasts Law Firm Salaries Arms Race plus the comments of Larry E. Ribstein in his Ideoblog post Why are law firm associates paid so much? seem to have inspired a nice piece of analysis by Bruce MacEwen in his resulting post, Associate Salaries: The Great Debate.

Bruce refers to Cameron Stracher's analysis in his article in today's Wall Street Journal as "economically flawed" and goes on to say that "he misses the fundamental economic rationale" that Larry identifies. Bruce feels compelled to "correct" Stracher's comment about the profitability of an associate at the new starting salary.

Wait no longer - enjoy Bruce's post — let the discussion continue — this is getting interesting!!

BRUCE MARCUS

See Bruce's new article, How to Recruit in a Competitive World, at LAW.COM. Here's a taste:

Recruiting advertising is like any other, in that telling people what you want won't work. Offering people what they want, and how you're going to give it to them, works.

Bruce goes on to give actual examples of what has worked for others.

Also, visit Bruce's newsletter regularly. Just click on The Marcus Letter logo below.

Thanks to Ed Poll for the heads up on this in his blog: LawBiz

Referencing the announcement that Sullivan & Cromwell will raise starting salaries for newly minted attorneys by $20,000, to $145,000 (plus bonus), Wall Street Journal writer Cameron Stracher writes a provocative article called Cut My Salary, Please! (on line subscription required).

Cameron Stracher, author of "Double Billing: A Young Lawyer's Tale of Greed, Sex, Lies, and the Pursuit of a Swivel Chair" (William Morrow, 1998), says "Corporate law firms are, essentially, giant pyramid schemes…"

"Corporate law firms are, essentially, giant pyramid schemes…"

He goes on to say:

But what makes economic sense to the firms makes less sense for young lawyers. For one thing, each salary increase has been accompanied with a corresponding increase in billable minimums. When I started practicing, lawyers were expected to bill around 1,800 hours a year. These days, it's about 2,200. Those 400 extra billable hours translate to about 600 more hours at work, or approximately two to three more hours in the office each day. Even at 1,800 hours I worked until nine at night, and most weekends. At 2,200 hours, a lawyer might as well move a cot into his office.

Before concluding he suggests that:

Tomorrow, law firms should cut starting salaries by 50%

You'll have to read the full article to analyze his reasoning.

My Opinion: During the dot com boom I recall participating in a round table in San Francisco where we discussed the then ridiculous increases in associate salaries. I understand the free market mechanisms that drive firms to compete for talent. I said then and I will say it again that salaries alone do not buy you motivation, commitment, drive and the desired peak performance. They buy you compliance with extremely high billable hour targets. I believe the long term winners have to be competitive in their salaries but also must learn how to enhance the satisfaction of both lawyers and the clients they serve.

Bruce Allen adds some essential thoughts about mentoring in his recent post, Mentoring Works.... In its Own Way

His first bullet point is:

The mentoring relationship IS a relationship. It requires a chemistry between two individuals not found in a spread sheet or personality profile. Not every senior attorney in your firm will be selected as one, and not every person that needs one can find it within your firm.

See the remaining four bullet points at his blog.

By the way, do you believe that Bruce is a grandfather? He provides evidence - see "Future Blogger" by scrolling down at his site.

Are you incredulous? Do you think I am making this up? Richard Dearden, media manager of Irwin Mitchell (Top 10 UK firm) sent an internal email which included this:

We've trawled the intranet and pulled together our most photogenic people for potential models. We don't have the schedule agreed yet, but if you are around on Tuesday we may call upon you to be involved. If you aren't available or wouldn't like to be involved then that's no problem, however if you are happy to be involved (work commitments permitting), please could you dress nice and smart (as I'm sure you all already do) in case we call upon your services.

Res Ipsa Loquiter!! (For non-lawyers, that means "the thing speaks for itself"

FASTFORWARD: Working internationally and observing cultural differences, I have often commented that US political correctness does not extend to the UK. The same memorandum in an American-based firm would likely be viewed as shocking but not in the UK. It is not for me to judge, but it is fun to observe that, Mr. Friedman, the world is not completely "flat" yet.

See the original post at Roll on Friday

(This graphic has little to do with my post but is as tasteless as anything I could find.)

Imagine the Human Resources Manager of Cameron McKenna (London-based global firm) revealing this publicly about a member of its staff (albeit internally and only to trainees). To be clear, the email included the employee's real name.

Recently, we have experienced a drop in her performance and whilst support and coaching has been given, [she] decided to resign yesterday.

FASTFORWARD: Is it just me or should a HR professional know better. If that is true, perhaps retaining an outplacement consultant would be the firm's best next move. What action would you take against that HR Manager?

This may not be quite as bad as my earlier post It's their funeral... — which garnered several reader comments — but it is still disgusting.

See original story, complete with original emails, at Roll On Friday

The introduction of Female Mentoring at Freshfields (London-based global firm) is to be congratulated and condemned at the same time - perhaps King Solomom would have a different take on this but here is mine.

I applaud:
- the motives (diversity - attracting and keeping more women in a firm that lacks the degree of gender balance that it desires)
- instituting a mentoring program

I am concerned with:
- the sexist notion that only women can mentor women
- the exclusion of men from the program - many men desperately need mentoring also and can offer it as well. In fact, in firms where I am asked to offer special sessions dealing with special challenges faced by women in dealing with clients, I insist on participation by at least some of the firm's men. This is not token. They offer invaluable insights.

FASTFORWARD: If you do not have a mentoring program, you should consider starting one. The benefits are too abundant to list here, not the least of which is better performance and lower turnover both leading to greater profitability.

See the original post at Roll on Friday.

RollOnFriday is making fun of London based law firm CMS Cameron McKenna but do they deserve it - you be the judge.

CMS Cameron McKenna is no slouch. According to their web site, they:

* are the primary counsel to 20 of the FTSE 350
* acted for 107 of the FTSE 350 in 2004-5
* have over 55 offices and associated offices worldwide
* have over 130 partners and more than 700 other fee-earners
* employ 59% female staff
* are a founding member of CMS - the alliance of independent European law firms

So what does RollOnFriday find so amusing?

It seems that the CMS Cameron McKenna recruiting web site has a prominent flash animation banner that focuses on relationships. What kind of relationships? Ummm you decide. Just click the green banner at the top of this page and watch the animated version for a few minutes - then you tell me exactly how you interpret the information they are presenting to thier recruits.

PUNCHLINE: Those who conceived this idea (no pun intended) likely had the best of intentions hoping to demonstrate that if you join CMS Cameron McKenna you will not be operating in isolation. Somehow, I think the execution may have distorted the orginal vision. What do you think?

My colleague Ed Wesemann has a very interesting piece on using retooling as an option to terminating the underproductive partner. He notes that the termination option is often used because: "they simply don't have the confidence that any other option will work".

In this post, Ed covers:

Selecting Partners for Retooling

Making Retooling Successful

Check it out.

I am generally critical about how law firms are managed, although always out of a sense of affection and respect for my profession. Even I was shocked by what I read about the management in Dorsey & Whitney's London office:

But old-fashioned bad management is apparently playing its part too: one partner issued an email after the London bombings explaining that he had billed 7.5 hours on that day and expected his team to do the same. Apparently, he also refused to allow anyone from his team to attend the funeral of a partner who died shortly after leaving the firm.

This is actually excerpted from a news story on the rollonfriday.com site (which is supported by advertising from major London law firms).

On Dorsey & Whitney's web site, the firm proclaims of its own management that:

Our management team is comprised of experienced law firm professionals, dedicated to creating an environment in which our attorneys can put clients first.

Reconcile that with this excerpt from the same story which says:

…at least eight associates have resigned.

There may be hope! In the recruitment section of their web site, under the heading "Firm Structure/Management" appears the following Q&A:

Are non-partner attorneys involved in firm management and governance?

The Council is a representative body that serves to strengthen the voice of Dorsey's non-partner attorneys. The Council welcomes feedback with respect to concerns, issues and ideas from all non-partner attorneys. The Chair of The Council regularly reports to firm management.

PUNCHLINE: While the behaviour alluded to here is about as bad as I have seen, I promise you that Dorsey & Whitney is not alone in having socially dysfunctional, destructive lawyers in their midst. Do not imagine for a second that this kind of negative influence comes without expense. What does it cost to recruit eight associates? I'll bet no firm would dare subtract that number from the billing revenue of some maniac in order to determine compensation.

One Managing Partner confided in me that the greatest contribution he has made in his tenure as leader of his highly profitable international firm is the firing of 60 partners, including some that so demoralized others that their impressive billings just "were not worth the pain and suffering they caused, emotionally or in extra expense".

MY WIFE'S WISDOM: Sometimes my wife Bethany really nails the point - her reaction was: Dysfunctional people with power are going to have to realize that their behaviour simply is not anonymous anymore.

The legal profession is extremely fragmanted. There is no IBM, Ford or even Price Waterhouse Coopers in the legal profession - the mega law firms are tiny. I believe that explains why there has been so little R&D and innovation in the profession. That may be changing.

According to Bruce Macewen's Adam Smith Esq. post titled: "Of Counsel"? "Non-Equity Partner?" Column C?, Allen & Overy has taken a step that may make them unique, at least temporarily, by creating a new category of lawyer called "Managing Associates".

"Managing associates will have increased responsibilities and some access to partnership information and will be viewed as likely partnership material."

Many large firms have created a category of associates who are on track for partnership but I have not heard of anyone using the title: "Managing Associates".

Maybe the Allen & Overy's of this world and their mega counterparts are beginning to be a size where they will begin to modify the profession, hopefully for the better. I will be watching (both while on assignment with large firms and through the blogosphere).

Anthony Cerminaro

OK - I don't want to overdo this "fun and happiness theme" but there's lawyer Anthony Cerminaro blogging about Happiness Breeding Success.

Read his post — it captures the gems from the article he referred to in Live Science by the same name. The other quote I liked was:

Scientists reviewed 225 studies involving 275,000 people and found that chronically happy people are in general more successful in their personal and professional lives.

PUNCHLINE: I am not suggesting that having fun and being happy are the exclusive ingredients for a successful firm — in my view they must be accompanied by clear and strong values that are adhered to. I am, however, endorsing the idea that firms do much better if it's not a drag to work in them. Reflect on this as you formulate your personal 2006 plan as leader of your firm.

Peter Cornell, Managing Partner, Clifford Chance

I admire 53 year old outgoing Clifford Chance Managing Partner Peter Cornell for his integrity and self awareness in saying that "his skills as a lawyer were too rusty for him to return to practice" according to an article in today's New York Law Journal by Anthony Lin titled: Clifford Chance Managing Partner Stepping Down

I am not worried about Peter Cornell who is likely in sufficient demand to have his choice of lucrative careers after he steps down as MP. The importance of this story is not about Peter Cornell or Clifford Chance. My point pertains to the many managing partners in much smaller firms who risk their futures for their firms every day. Many have no built in compensation safeguard to allow them to gravitate back to practice after retiring from their Managing Partner role. There is a serious period of adjustment to attract work and to ensure that work is of the highest quality.

The worst part for many firms is that their Managing Partners are well aware of this vulnerability and therefore refuse to dramatically diminish their law practices and therefore do not spend serious time and effort on management. I have worked with a number of firms where the managing partner is too busy to manage but won't (or can't) delegate much to others. These firms pay the biggest price of all because the meander through the years virtually unmanaged.

It is time for all law firms of more than a handful of lawyers to realize that there is a return on the investment of management and a competitive disadvantage for ignoring that fact. They must create safety valves for Managing Partners who can then lend themselves to the management of the firm with enthusiasm rather than dabble in it while carrying a heavy caseload.

Mandi Fleiser

If esprit de corps in your office is so fantastic that you are looking for ways to suppress it, then skip this post. However if you want to see a brilliant, simple and time efficient way of enhancing it, then treat this as a mini case study. (Esprit de corps is "a feeling of pride, fellowship, and common loyalty...")

Mandi Fleiser is a partner in Grant Thornton's Johannesburg office — she transformed an abstract thought into action… she breathed life into her idea.

The Misty Hills Country Hotel outside of Johannesburg