Legal Marketing & Consulting

Law Firms Go to Business School

Business schools are retooling executive education programs to help lawyers prepare for top positions in law firm management or to help them lure more clients to their firms. Nixon Peabody partner Kevin Fitzgerald was one of the first lawyers at his firm to attend an executive education program at Harvard…

May 20, 2009 2:51 PM CDT

In Business Quest, Law Firms Hire Image Coaches and Marketing Mavens

Philadelphia image consultant Sara Canuso has expanded her business to include lawyers badly in need of makeovers. Since she began to target lawyers as clients in January, Canuso has consulted at five law firms and has scheduled visits at three more, the Wall Street Journal reports. She offers a three-hour…

May 20, 2009 2:20 PM CDT

Dueling YouTube Clips: Potential High Court Nominees vs. PI Lawyers

What can you learn about potential U.S. Supreme Court nominees whose legal musings are captured in YouTube video clips? You can get a feel for the lawyers’ personalities but little in the way of ammunition to challenge their nominations, Slate magazine concludes. Not to be outdone, Esquire magazine features other…

May 19, 2009 1:03 PM CDT

Law Firm Business Model Isn’t Changing All That Much, Survey Says

Ward Bower of consulting firm Altman Weil has been predicting some big changes for large law firms that will affect the bottom line for many associates. Bower tells the Legal Intelligencer that law firms will be hiring fewer first-year associates, will be billing clients less for their work, and will…

May 12, 2009 2:35 PM CDT

Ex-Associate Hit with ‘Wave of Negativity’ at Session for Jobless

Legal recruiters in Los Angeles told a standing-room only crowd of jobless lawyers at a panel discussion on Wednesday that they might have to look outside the law for jobs. The dismal news had lawyers dressed in interview suits heading for the exits rather than staying to chat with the…

May 1, 2009 11:51 AM CDT

Fearful Associates Opt for Partner Face Time Over Work-at-Home Time

The balance of power has shifted away from associates at big law firms who got top pay, demanded interesting work and flexible schedules. Now associates fearing layoffs are more reluctant to raise workplace concerns and to ask for work-life balance accommodations, observers told the National Law Journal. And with good…

Apr 23, 2009 2:25 PM CDT

Role-Playing Game Suggests Lower-Paid Future for BigLaw Lawyers

A sort of Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game at a law school last weekend shed light on a possible future for BigLaw that includes lower salaries and more training for associates. The game was led by Indiana University law professor Bill Henderson and Anthony Kearns, the lead risk manager for…

Apr 21, 2009 12:02 PM CDT

Five Reasons Lawyers Get into Silly Fights at Work

Emotions such as anger and traits such as ego make it easy for lawyers to get drawn into silly fights at work. Lawyer and compliance consultant Erika Tyner Allen identifies five reasons lawyers get drawn into workplace disputes, and offers ways to avoid the next fight. Writing in the Complete…

Apr 17, 2009 2:23 PM CDT

Legal Market Stronger in San Francisco

As demand for legal work dropped 8 percent nationally for the first quarter of 2009, one legal market showed surprising resilience. San Francisco saw only a 1 percent drop in demand for legal services and a 1 percent increase in total fees, the Recorder reports. The figures are based on…

Apr 16, 2009 5:25 PM CDT

Law Blogs Are ‘Cheapest Thing You Can Do’ to Market Practice, Lawyer Says

Consumer law firm Pritzker | Olsen in Minneapolis has one blog at present but is in the process of developing several others because its Food Poisoning Blog has proven itself. “We know we are getting business [from the blogs]. It’s really easy to track,” Pritzker | Olsen attorney Brendan Flaherty…

Apr 7, 2009 4:39 PM CDT

Colo. Law Partner’s Rallying Call: SOS Could Create Many Individual Jobs

What if every business that had the ability to create just one job did so? That’s the premise for an unusual idea to help improve the global economy that is described by a Colorado lawyer in an op-ed piece in the Denver Post. Partner Larry Pozner of the Reilly Pozner…

Apr 6, 2009 11:37 PM CDT

Law Firms Moving from Period of Growth to Era of Efficiency, Expert Says

Law firms have emerged from a period of never-ending growth to a new era of efficiency, according to a former managing partner of Arnold & Porter who is now a law firm consultant. James Jones, managing director of Hildebrandt International, outlined his vision for the future during a conference of…

Apr 3, 2009 12:04 PM CDT