My partner Nicole Auerbach, proud owner of a middle office, recounts the lessons learned when she voluntarily gave up her corner office, and also those from some other risks she’s taken along the way. This is her story, as...more
6/17/2013
- Career Development Law Firm Partners
With his permission, I want to share with you a note I received from Ken Grady, the former General Counsel of Wolverine World Wide, Inc. and architect of the astonishingly successful Wolverine law department and its...more
6/3/2013
- Attorney's Fees Legal Costs Value-Based Fees
The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the increasing number of BigLaw partners charging more than $1000 per hour. My thoughts on hourly billing are well know, but the criticism of these rates as excessive misses the...more
4/15/2013
- Attorney's Fees Billable Hours
I am frequently asked how I go about pricing the handling of a lawsuit. I am always tempted to answer with the old line, “I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you.” My real answer goes something like this: “Before...more
4/1/2013
- Attorney's Fees Billing Legal Costs
This week we learned that a client of DLA Piper had counter-sued the firm because it [allegedly] overbilled him. Much has been written about the emails from one DLA lawyer to another with the salacious quotes: “churn that...more
3/29/2013
- Big Law False Billing
I have often observed that when presented with an idea from outside the law, lawyers are almost reflexively dismissive. After immediate dismissal of such ideas, lawyers then tend to exercise their legal skills to develop...more
3/18/2013
- Business Development Marketing
Sadly, most of my worst customer experiences come from my preferred airline. It’s sad because I fly. A lot. You might think that being an elite flyer for the past 15 years might count for something, but then again airlines...more
2/25/2013
- Business Development Client Services
Scott Curran, the Deputy General Counsel of The Clinton Foundation (yes, that Clinton Foundation), was this year’s first guest speaker at Valorem’s “Lunch With a Cool Person.” The mug presented to Scott confirms he is, in...more
2/18/2013
- Business Development Marketing The Clinton Foundation
When I was a young lawyer, one of my first disputes was with a partner who asked me to proofread his brief. Presented by the phrase “true and correct copy”, I dutifully struck the words “true and correct”....more
1/30/2013
I received an email from Michael Rynowecer of BTI Consulting which provided an interesting insight. There has been a number of reports about large law firms losing market share and otherwise performing poorly....more
1/14/2013
- Business Development Marketing
