Harsh?  If killing the golden goose is stupid, then this is not harsh at all. 

Find out why 58% of (surveyed) General Counsel expressed outrage.  Find out why 84% of (surveyed) General Counsel wanted the law firms they use to contact them about associate salaries but none did.

Brilliant law firm leaders who can not empathize with the clients they serve (including General Counsel in their larger clients) are going to pay an enormous price.

If sustaining profitability is high on your agenda, read Patrick Lamb’s post called “Demand Destruction” in his famous In Search of Client Service" blog.  (In a better world, there would have been no need for this post.)

Punchline:  Within the next two years, many private practice law firms will be going through some rough times and many will blame the GC’s of their clients.  There are two sides to this story.  Some bold firms should gather the courage to communicate with their clients directly and with candor.  The best texts on negotiating describe win/win scenarios where both sides benefit.  There is a certain immaturity to the ostrich approach most law firms take to these issues – even major firms.


Click on Magazine cover to download article.

In this article, Bruce Interviews Peter J. Kalis, Chairman and Global Managing Partner of K & L Gates (Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP) about the race to be in the Global 100.  In this article/interview, Peter discloses with refreshing candor his views from the importance of leadership to the elements that a firm must possess to compete globally.  You are welcome to download the pdf.

We are grateful to Bruce MacEwen of Adam Smith Esq. for guest authoring in our latest Edge International Review (Spring 2007 edition).  Bruce is a lawyer and consultant to law firms on strategic and economic issues. Bruce publishes the widely-read site “Adam Smith, Esq.", was educated at Princeton University( BA magna cum laude in economics), at Stanford Law School (JD),and at NYU’s Stern School of Business (MBA candidate in finance) and is a native New Yorker.

Go here for full complete Edge International Review (Spring 2007 edition)

My friend Patrick Lamb joined me and my daughter, Raquel, for dinner last night in Chicago.  I do not typically post about personal or family matters but I would be remiss if  I did not acknowledge with gratitude Pat’s support for Raquel’s career as evidenced by his post Vote Riskin. Vote Early. Vote Often at his famous blog: In search of Client Service.  

Pat is a busy man with an awesome law practice, senior management responsibilities, tons of community work not to mention being  a wonderful husband and father to Barbara and their four kids – and with all that, he makes time to help friends.  WOW! (and thanks, Pat)


The Wall Street Journal posts: Slater & Gordon: The World’s First Publicly Traded Law Firm

Managing Partners and other members of law firm C suites had better look at Slater & Gordon’s prospectus – it’s a gold mine, (pun intended).

Have a look at how risks are described – the Wall Street Journal post quotes the passage balancing professional responsibility and shareholder profits.

"Lawyers have a primary duty to the courts and a secondary duty to their clients. These duties are paramount given the nature of the Company’s business as an Incorporated Legal Practice. There could be circumstances in which the lawyers of Slater & Gordon are required to act in accordance with these duties and contrary to other corporate responsibilities and against the interests of Shareholders or the short-term profitability of the Company."

I adored the "Key Risks" page (click on it to download pdf of this page):

PUNCHLINE:  If this does not fascinate you, you should resign from your leadership position.  I am not saying you should follow suit – I want you to know what your options are and what your competitors might be up to way sooner than you would like to think.

Science fiction movies adore time travel and ripples in the primordial fabric.  We are witnessing a collision – the future has just exploded into the present.  With Clemente in the UK just over the horizon, please fasten your seatbelts – this is a pivotal moment for the legal profession and for the Managing Partners within it.  Like Dennis Hopper’s famous line in the movie Speed, "what are you going to do, Jack"

You may want to reference my earlier post:  The end of the legal profession as you knew it…


The Wall Street Journal speaks – shall we listen?

“[William Durbin Jr.] regrets having focused too much on profits and “de-equitizing” partners (reducing their stake in the profit pool) in an effort to boost the bottom line, a strategy that has become popular in Big Law. ‘There’s a lot more that people bring to a law firm than profitability: integrity, a cheerful demeanor, teaching ability,” he said. “These intangibles have more importance than I paid to them.”

“Durbin says he’s written two letters to a partner he had demoted. “I said that ‘I’m sorry. I have regrets. You were always good to me and this should not have happened.’” The partner never wrote back.”

“The 51-year-old Dallas resident says he’s gotten out of corporate law and has undergone an “interior change” These days, Durbin says, he is studying Spanish with the goal of helping underprivileged Latino children.”

Punchline:  Law is a profession… a calling… it has (and deserves) dignity…  may we please place a filter under the coffee of profit to ensure that we deserve to survive as a profession – shall we deserve to survive or shall we deserve to die.  This is directed at lonely Managing Partners whose constituencies persist that it is all about the PPP.  Maybe there is something else!

Note:  I haven’t mentioned the firm name – does it matter?  If it does, see (WSJ subscription required): The Rise and Fall of …

(Click on image to see original enlarged version)

I was fascinated by this piece at the Consumerist:   How To Beat The Stock Market: Buy Companies With High Customer Satisfaction Scores

If the same phenomenon occurs in the legal profession, there would be a tremendous return on investment from enhancing client satisfaction.

The story is that a portfolio comprised of “companies at the top 20% of the the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)… greatly outperformed the stock market, generating a 40% return.

“From 1996-2003, the portfolio outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 93%, the S&P 500 by 201%, and NASDAQ by 335%.”

How would you like to out perform the average law firm by somewhere between 93% and 335%?  More importantly, how much should you invest in order to reap a return of that nature?

Don’t bother disseminating this information to your people in order to encourage them to focus on enhancing client satisfaction.  Their consequential improved knowledge on the subject will do little.  It takes results (client satisfaction) to get results (improved profitability).  SKILLS rather than knowledge with be essential to achieve the desired outcome.

PUNCHLINE:  In my opinion, there is an overabundance of information in law firms and a dearth of client-relations training.  If you are a Managing Partner, you may want to balance this disparity.

Note:  I admit that this post is an act of unbridled extrapolation.  I cannot prove that the empirical research referenced would apply to the legal profession per se but my view is that it probably would.

(Thank you to my son, Daniel, for bringing this to my attention.  Daniel (Riskin) is a PhD and a renowned expert on bats – he discovered Vampire bats run – check out his site.)

How your people use their voice mail may seem at first both trivial and unimportant. BZZZZZZZZZZ WRONG!!!

The reason you open you wallet wide for a Ritz Carlton is because of the experience.  Do you think it’s a coincidence that you are greeted by name at the front desk?    (Did you see the secret service-type ear phone worn by the doorman who opened your car door and asked if you were checking-in and for your name?  As you walked form your car, the front desk staff was given your name – they did not not need to recognize you from last time.)

Two highly respected bloggers, Tom Collins of morepartnerincome and Patrick Lamb of In Search of Perfect Client Service respectfully disagree in their respective posts: Voice Mail — a Lawyer’s Friend or Foe and Voicemail–Useful Tool Or Devil’s Folly?  Tom sets out some rules worth considering and Patrick builds on them adding his own perspective.

PUNCHLINE:  Take five minutes, read the posts, and then do the unthinkable.  Create your own protocol (that you think optimizes the client’s experience with your voice mail system) and then ask your partners, associates and staff to comply.  Trivial and unimportant?  Your competitors hope you think so.

I am truly humbled by the praise bestowed upon my book and audio program today by Patrick Lamb in his post: Client Service Lessons And So Much More.  

Patrick’s comments about The Successful Lawyer, published by the American Bar Association are particularly gratifying because I believe that client service is the most important client-relations imperative.  I am also grateful to receive such feedback from a lawyer who is much more than a theoretician – Patrick is the marketing partner and a member of the executive of one of the most successful boutiques in the USA.