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Blog Post
Years ago a friend took me to Venice Beach to watch, in her words, “the curious freak show of men and women power lifting and flexing by the Pacific.” It was a strange scene and made me wonder, “Why are they doing this and who are they doing it for?” Years later, the bulking and flexing process is playing out in a very different place: the Legal Department of energy giant, Royal Dutch Shell (“Shell”). Only this time, the reason for the display is obvious: Shell is an enormous consumer of legal services and has a great deal to gain...
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Blog Post
There is plenty of data confirming the migration of work from law firms to corporate legal departments. Once regarded as law’s junior varsity, the in-house role has become a coveted alternative to the grind and uncertainty of Big Law. As Huey Lewis said, “It’s hip to be square.” What is less often considered is how and why corporate legal departments have wrested the reins of the profession–and industry–from law firms. Are in-house departments contemporary law firms, albeit captives with different structures, economic models, leadership qualifications, performance metrics, functions and culture than traditional partnership model firms? Are in-house counsel–especially senior leadership --hybrids...
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Blog Post
Ever watch card players shuffle the deck? The purpose, of course, is to rearrange the cards for a new game. It’s a “reboot.” And it’s entertaining. Is that what we are seeing with legal delivery: a reshuffling of the deck? For decades, the game has been played without a remix. Law firms have dealt the same hand. No reshuffle. And their corporate clients rarely groused the deck was stacked. The outcome was entirely predictable: law firm wins. Rinse and repeat. But the game has changed, especially since 2008. The deck is being reshuffled. Here’s how. (more…)
Blog Post
Law is a knowledge- based business. As such, one would imagine that those with the greatest depth of knowledge–and highest value to clients–would maintain an elevated status in their firms and be compensated accordingly. But such is not the case in today’s legal marketplace where who and what is of paramount value to most law firms often diverges from the clients’ perspective. Simply put: rainmakers call the shots at law firms while “service partners”, non-equity partners who mange and perform the bulk of the heavy lifting on client matters, have been systematically devalued, if not jettisoned, in recent years. The...
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