The future today
It is clear that we are working through an extraordinary time for the legal profession; there are so many factors in play that it can feel almost impossible to discern trends. There are, however, three significant factors that at least provide some context for this period of unprecedented change: First, the potential for significant deregulation… More
Bridging the gap
The “bridge” as metaphor has become a familiar part of the communicator’s lexicon. We are forever “building bridges” between interest groups and factions and when we note that this is often more difficult than hoped for, it will almost certainly be a “bridge too far”. The literal simplicity of the concept and its metaphorical appropriateness… More
BP – hapless, hopeless or hard done to?
It is too early for history to judge, but judgements are still being made. Despite the noise and clamour of the moment with commentators and experts at every twist and turn, I wonder whether in ten years time we will look back at what has happened (is happening) in the Gulf of Mexico and see… More
Defining a new normal for ethics, lawyers and business
A very good friend of mine was somewhat nonplussed by an announcement a few years back; he had heard that the Law Society in England & Wales had set up an “Essex Helpline”. “What on earth,” he opined, “did the Law Society think it was doing spending our money on something just for Essex? And… More
Blessed are the dealmakers
It is said that what doesn’t kill us provides a learning experience; but deciding what we learn in our professional lives is not always easy to discern. The pace of change is not uniform and this provides a constant conundrum – on the one hand we read of seemingly significant developments like the Legal Services… More
The battered survivor – lessons from a recession
The weeks have just tumbled by, the months seem to end before they have begun and in a flash the year is nearly gone…This has also been a year of unsurpassed peril for so many businesses – it feels like we have been blown through an imperfect storm. Whatever happened to the charted course we… More
Supporting the Support Teams
Even in the best of times some support functions in many law firms suffer from a downplaying of their value by their lawyer colleagues simply because their teams are not populated with lawyers doing fourteen hundred (plus) chargeable hours a year. However in the current environment this attitude may prove to be even less enlightened… More
Tell me something I can take away and do…
Speaking with one general counsel the other day, I was asked a not untypical question: “What can you tell me that I could implement today that will help me and my team become more effective?”. I guess we all hope there might be something we can do better that is relatively easy and inexpensive to… More
Is now a good time to become a lawyer?
To read some lawyers’ contributions to the legal blogs you might be forgiven for thinking that becoming a lawyer today was not the shrewdest career choice one could make. It is certainly true to say that some firms are cancelling (or postponing) training contracts, that the legal profession (in the UK at least) is soul… More
Managing to lead, because we are all leaders now
The difference between what is a “leader” and what is a “manager” and what is “leadership” and “management” is the stuff of consulting heaven! It is a debate that has spawned thousands of books, articles and workshops…and no doubt there are still careers that will be made for the man or woman who can coin… More