I liked this:

Your legal blog has been selected by the ABA Journal as one of the 100 best websites for lawyers, by lawyers. Congratulations!

I liked this even more:

“Our list of the 100 best lawyer blogs is the cream of the crop from our directory of more than 1,500 blawgs in dozens of categories, including blawgs focused on almost every state, law school and major federal court in the nation.”

I appreciate the ABA a lot – they are the publisher of my book The Successful Lawyer and my audio program by the same name.

Here’s what I don’t like:

My friend mentor and blog provider Kevin O’Keefe has it mainly right in his post Law Blog vanity contests : ABA adds to the silliness

PUNCHLINE:  I am truly honoured by finding myself in the top 100 – make no mistake about that.  But why would I seek votes – there are many great blogs out there including ones that are not in the top 100 (and some that are in the top 100 are way too commercial for my taste – where the bloggers sell sell sell).  So I don’t seek your vote – but do appreciate your dropping by or subscribing by email or even better by RSS feed.  I would like to think, my reader, that you and I have something in common.  We enjoy different points of view and variety.  I think some of my posts have been stronger than others – some more interesting than others.  So please keep visiting Amazing Firms Amazing Practices but continually look around and find other blogs that appeal to you and scan for a useful post now and then.  I trust you to do that by yourself without the blessing of any third party – I don’t even think the winner of a popularity contest deserves your patronage more than a blog that might be more obscure but have data or a point of view you are interested in.

I think this is my least interesting blog to date but I felt compelled to write it so thanks for reading – and a reminder – don’t vote for me (if you click the "vote for this blog" link above it will take you to a place worth contemplating for a few seconds before you return to the fires that burn on your desk.)

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

After a 15 year COO/Executive-Director drought, Morrison & Foerster is making a move that is more akin to the behaviour of British and Australian firms than American ones – they have looked outside the firm and indeed outside the legal profession to fill their new Chief Operating Officer Position.  This is a bold move which according to Chairman Keith Wetmore will give Mo Fo a competitive advantage.  According to the same article, Pat Cavaney, formerly Senior Vice President of Hewlett-Packard, will free up the three firm Managing Partners to manage the practices more and the operations less (and also spend more time practicing law).

PUNCHLINE:  I wish Mo Fo and Cavaney every success.  I offer the polite caution, however, that I have watched some very talented, intelligent and accomplished individuals who were not themselves lawyers get devoured in the law firm environment by the ferocious independence of many individual partners who felt quite comfortable in their belief that a non-lawyer could not possibly handle the job and that criticism could be heaped upon him (or her) in abundance.   Having said that, I am aware of several notable successes where non-lawyers have maneuvered the maze with aplomb and have gained the internal respect that has allowed them to get on with the job.  Pat Cavaney’s impressive background will help a lot but it won’t be enough without some serious help from the firm’s senior leadership and a lot of skill on his part – which he likely possesses based on the following (published by Techie Evangelist while he was Senior Vice President at Hewlett-Packard):

As Senior Vice President, Pat Cavaney is responsible for Global Delivery Operations & Information Technology for Technology Services, Technology Solutions Group. In this role, Cavaney manages the Global Delivery Program Office; the Group Information Office (IT + R&D); the Engagement PMO; Customer Operations; Applications Services Delivery; Total Customer Experience, Quality, and Business Process Management; and Compliance & Maturity Assessment.

Prior to his current role, Cavaney managed the implementation of the company’s merger integration plans for the services businesses of HP and Compaq. The scope of this effort encompassed all HP Services functions and lines of business including Customer Support, Consulting & Integration, and Managed Services.

Cavaney also served as the Worldwide General Manager of HP Education Services. He was responsible for managing HP’s broad portfolio of learning services that help businesses enhance knowledge and skills and improve business performance.

With a career spanning more than 20 years, Cavaney’s prior experience includes serving as the Worldwide General Manager of the HP Services Year 2000 Program. He was responsible for directing the sales, marketing, delivery, and administration efforts of HP Services to ensure the Y2K readiness of HP product offerings and customer support infrastructure.

Born in Pasadena, California, Cavaney holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California. He is based in Palo Alto, California.

I believe the legal profession has much to gain by importing talent from outside and I wish Mo Fo and Pat Cavaney every success.

Thank you to the ABA Journal for serving as a source for this post – see their November 20th article:  Non-Lawyer Now at Helm of 1,000-Attorney Law Firm


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).

Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry — fired by Musharraf Saturday — in a phone call to a gathering of lawyers urged them to go to "every corner of Pakistan and give the message that this is the time to sacrifice."

This in the face of:

"Baton-wielding police fought with lawyers outside courthouses in Islamabad and Lahore again Tuesday, arresting dozens more as they enforced Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s crackdown on judicial activism."

The above from CNN Story: "Pakistan’s courts in lockdown"

The Canadian Bar Association has condemned Pakistan:

CBA Condemns Arrests of Lawyers in Pakistan and Calls for Return to Rule of Law 

The American Bar Association (President) has this to say:

ABA President William H. Neukom Urges Restoration of Justice to Pakistani People

I have found nothing (yet) on the web site of The Law Society of England and Wales.

My view:  When lawyers stand up to a dictator who suspends the rule of law, then it is the finest imaginable "judicial activism".  If Musharraf’s actions are tolerated, say goodbye to liberty.


Pakistan attacks the rule of law and beats on lawyers who were attempting to peacefully protest for the most fundamental rights available to human beings.  Every lawyer in the world feels the pain of every brutal blow of the oppressing regime’s batons on our profession.  This is not a political blog but it is about the legal profession and there is no more important issue than the role lawyers play in maintaining the rule of law.  This is a devastating day for every lawyer.

See the video and and story at BBC. "Police have used tear gas and baton charges to break up demonstrations by Pakistani lawyers…"

…you would have seen my Edge International colleague and friend, Robert Millard, present the findings from the latest Managing Partner Forum Survey related to differences in approach to strategy in firms in the United Kingdom vs North America, and also in CPA (Accounting) Firms vs Law Firms.  (Click on the sample slide to enlarge)

Download your own copy from Robert Millard’s Blog, Adventures in Strategy, post: Slides from Managing Partners’ Forum meeting at White & Case LLP, New York on Thursday, 18 October 2007


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