The Law Firm Lifecycle: Why Some Firms Fail the Law Firm Lifecycle: Why Some Firms Fail
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Lessons Learned from Law Firm Failures
ALA San Francisco Chapter Lessons Learned from Law Firm Failures Kristin Stark Principal, Fairfax Associates July 2016 Page 0 About Fairfax Fairfax Associates provides strategy and management consulting to law firms Strategy & Performance & Governance & Merger Direction Compensation Management Strategy Development and Partner Performance and Governance and Merger Strategy Implementation Compensation Management Firm Performance and Operational Structures & Practice Strategy Merger Search Profitability Improvement Reviews Market and Sector Merger Negotiation and Pricing Partnership Structure Research Structure Client Research and Key Process Improvement Alternative Business Models Client Development Merger Integration Page 1 1 Topics for Discussion • Disruptive Change • Dissolution Trends • Symptoms of Struggle: What Causes Law Firms to Fail? • What Keeps Firms From Changing? • Managing for Stability Page 2 How Rapidly is the Legal Industry Changing? Today 10 Years 2004 Ago Number of US firms at $1 billion or 2327 4 more in revenue: Average gross revenue for Am Law $482$510 million $271 million 200: Median gross revenue for Am Law $310$328 million $193 million 200: NLJ 250 firms with single office 4 11 operations: Number of Am Law 200 lawyers 25,000 10,000 based outside US: Page 4 2 How Rapidly is the Legal Industry Changing? Changes to the Law Firm Business Model Underway • Convergence • Dramatic reduction • Disaggregation in costs • Increasing • Process Client commoditization Overhead improvement • New pricing Model efforts models • Outsourcing -
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and New York City Law Department Launch Innovative Corporate / Public Service Pro Bono Initiative
NEW YORK CITY LAW DEPARTMENT OFFICE OF THE CORPORATION COUNSEL Press Release Michael A. Cardozo, Corporation Counsel Web: nyc.gov/html/law/home.html For Immediate Release MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG AND NEW YORK CITY LAW DEPARTMENT LAUNCH INNOVATIVE CORPORATE / PUBLIC SERVICE PRO BONO INITIATIVE MAYOR ACKNOWLEDGES PARTICIPATING FIRMS AND FIRMS THAT AIDED CORPORATION COUNSEL’S OFFICE AFTER SEPT. 11 WITH CITY HALL ENGAGEMENT Contact: Kate O’Brien Ahlers, Communications Director, (212) 788-0400, [email protected] New York, May 17, 2002 -- The New York City Law Department has joined with more than 30 leading law firms to form a unique public service initiative, the “Corporation Counsel Public Service Program,” that embraces Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s corporate/public service ideal while tackling the need for innovative solutions to the City’s budget crisis. The Mayor acknowledged firms participating in this program -- along with firms that aided the Corporation Counsel’s office after Sept. 11 -- with a City Hall engagement this morning. At the event, Chadbourne & Parke was honored for providing housing to over 100 City lawyers and staff for almost eight months, with Mayor Bloomberg proclaiming it “Chadbourne and Parke Day.” The Mayor also acknowledged several other law firms for the assistance they provided to the Corporation Counsel’s office after Sept. 11. Mayor Bloomberg’s engagement highlighted the two distinct elements of recent legal public service assistance offered to the New York City Law Department. The first initiative, the Corporation Counsel Public Service Program, is enabling New York City to better manage its mounting legal caseload while offering attorneys at major law firms a unique chance to participate in public service opportunities and bolster their legal and trial experience. -
Rethinking the Law Firm Organizational Form and Capitalization Structure
Scholarship Repository University of Minnesota Law School Articles Faculty Scholarship 2013 Rethinking the Law Firm Organizational Form and Capitalization Structure Edward S. Adams University of Minnesota Law School, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/faculty_articles Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Edward S. Adams, Rethinking the Law Firm Organizational Form and Capitalization Structure, 78 MO. L. REV. 777 (2013), available at https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/faculty_articles/90. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Minnesota Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in the Faculty Scholarship collection by an authorized administrator of the Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Rethinking the Law Firm Organizational Form and Capitalization Structure EdwardS. Adams 1. INTRODUCTION The recent bankruptcy of large law firms has energized the debate over the viability of the traditional partnership model. Dewey & LeBeouf filed for bankruptcy in May 2012, becoming the largest law firm bankruptcy in U.S. history.' At its peak, Dewey employed 1,400 lawyers in several offices across the globe, causing some to ask whether Dewey's collapse was an iso- lated product of poor management or a symptom of greater systemic prob- lems. 2 But Dewey's bankruptcy was not the first to result in the dissolution of a large firm. The financial downturn of 2008 deeply affected the legal profession, and several firms went under. Many have already questioned the traditional business structure of the law firm in light of these bankruptcies and the manner in which they oc- curred.4 Partner defections and limited capital place criticism squarely on the partnership model as a major factor in these bankruptcies. -
Beazley Brief Update Risk Management Insights for Law Firms from Beazley
Beazley Brief Update Risk management insights for law firms from Beazley Finishing Some “Unfinished Business”— California And In the February 2012 and July 2012 issues of the Beazley Brief, we reported on how the “unfinished business” doctrine New York Courts Reject - based on the California Court of Appeals decision in Jewel v. Boxer (156 Cal. App. 3d 171 (1984) - had spawned a rash of “Unfinished Business” Claims suits by dissolving law firms against departing partners and their new firms for taking the old firm’s “unfinished business,” Involving Dissolved Law Firms or pending client matters, with them to their new firms. By Kevin S. Rosen, Christopher Chorba, and Peter Bach-y-Rita Fortunately, the tide has begun to turn against this troubling - Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP trend. Recent decisions by courts in California and New York have determined that dissolved law firms do not have a One of the most troubling trends in recent years has been the property interest in pending hourly unfinished business rise in trustee litigation following the dissolution of several matters. This Beazley Brief Update addresses these major international law firms. Bankruptcy trustees have significant rulings. brought claims to recover profits on “unfinished business” on behalf of defunct firms, asserting an entitlement to fees We are again pleased that Gibson Dunn & Crutcher partners earned on matters handled by new firms that hired partners of Kevin S. Rosen and Christopher Chorba and associate Peter the dissolved firm. In these cases, trustees and debtors of the Bach-y-Rita have graciously agreed to prepare this update. dissolved firms have sued both the former partners and their Kevin is in the firm’s Los Angeles office and chair of the firm’s new firms, relying on the California Court of Appeal decision Law Firm Defense Practice Group. -
03.031 Socc04 Final 2(R)
STATEOF CENTER CITY 2008 Prepared by Center City District & Central Philadelphia Development Corporation May 2008 STATEOF CENTER CITY 2008 Center City District & Central Philadelphia Development Corporation 660 Chestnut Street Philadelphia PA, 19106 215.440.5500 www.CenterCityPhila.org TABLEOFCONTENTSCONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 OFFICE MARKET 2 HEALTHCARE & EDUCATION 6 HOSPITALITY & TOURISM 10 ARTS & CULTURE 14 RETAIL MARKET 18 EMPLOYMENT 22 TRANSPORTATION & ACCESS 28 RESIDENTIAL MARKET 32 PARKS & RECREATION 36 CENTER CITY DISTRICT PERFORMANCE 38 CENTER CITY DEVELOPMENTS 44 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 48 Center City District & Central Philadelphia Development Corporation www.CenterCityPhila.org INTRODUCTION CENTER CITY PHILADELPHIA 2007 was a year of positive change in Center City. Even with the new Comcast Tower topping out at 975 feet, overall office occupancy still climbed to 89%, as the expansion of existing firms and several new arrivals downtown pushed Class A rents up 14%. For the first time in 15 years, Center City increased its share of regional office space. Healthcare and educational institutions continued to attract students, patients and research dollars to downtown, while elementary schools experienced strong demand from the growing number of families in Center City with children. The Pennsylvania Convention Center expansion commenced and plans advanced for new hotels, as occupancy and room rates steadily climbed. On Independence Mall, the National Museum of American Jewish History started construction, while the Barnes Foundation retained designers for a new home on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Housing prices remained strong, rents steadily climbed and rental vacancy rates dropped to 4.6%, as new residents continued to flock to Center City. While the average condo sold for $428,596, 115 units sold in 2007 for more than $1 million, double the number in 2006. -
Download Magazine
UCLA Volume 27 Q Fall 2004 LAW LAW Volume 27 27 Volume Q Fall 2004 Dean Michael H. Schill Building on a Tradition of Innovation UCLA LAW The Magazine of the School of Law contents 2 Dean’s Message 4 Dean’s Events 6 Go West, Young Man 10 History of UCLA School of Law: A Tradition of Innovation 18 UCLA Clinical Education: Bridging the Gap Between the Classroom and the Courtroom 24 UCLA School of Law Think Tanks: Providing Relevant Scholarship and Reliable Data for Real Issues 30 UCLA School of Law Emphasizes an Interdisciplinary Approach 34 UCLA Students Capitalize on Third Year Opportunities 40 After the JD: A Pathbreaking Study of the Lives of Young Lawyers 46 2004 Commencement 48 Faculty 49 Focus on Faculty 53 New Faculty 58 Recent Faculty Books 64 Faculty Honors 66 Tribute to Norm Abrams, Interim Dean 68 In Memoriam 70 Events 74 Students Moot Court Student Awards In Memoriam Law Fellows Public Interest 82 Development Major Gifts Law Annual Fund 87 Alumni Innovative Alumni Alumni Events Mentor Program Class Notes Planned Giving message from the dean s I assume the deanship of impact of living wage laws on employment and bankruptcy laws UCLA School of Law, I am on corporations. A tremendously excited Throughout this magazine, you will read of the myriad ways in about the prospects for this great insti- which UCLA has approached the study of law and the development of tution. Founded only fifty-five years its programs—both curricular and extra-curricular—with a truly ago, UCLA School of Law is the original mindset. -
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Case 3:08-cv-05322-LB Document 65 Filed 11/25/09 Page 1 of 23 1 2 3 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 4 FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 5 6 KENDRICK PATTERSON, ADAM BERGMAN, ) No. 09-3031 SC MICHAEL ATTIANESE, ANDREA LEVY, ) 7 DARYL YEAKLE, and RAYMOND R. ) And related case: 8 PLANTE, each individually and on ) behalf of all others similarly ) 09-5322 SC 9 situated and the general public, ) ) ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' 10 Plaintiffs, ) MOTIONS TO DISMISS ) PLAINTIFFS' THIRD CAUSE OF 11 v. ) ACTION 12 ) STEPHEN V. O'NEAL, individually and ) ii 13 on behalf of those similarly ) situated; THOMAS HILL, individually ) 14 and on behalf of those similarly ) 15 situated; ELLEN L. BASTIER, ) individually and on behalf of those ) 16 similarly situated; MARK WEITZEL, ) individually and on behalf of those ) 17 similarly situated; JULIAN ) United States District Court For the Northern District of California 18 MILLSTEIN, individually and on ) behalf of those similarly situated; ) 19 JEFFREY STEINER, individually and ) on behalf of those similarly ) 20 situated; DAVID P. GRAYBEAL, ) individually and on behalf of those ) 21 similarly situated; ORRICK, ) 22 HERRINGTON & SUTCLIFFE LLP, a ) limited liability partnership; DLA ) 23 PIPER LLP, a limited liability ) partnership; NIXON PEABODY LLP, a ) 24 limited liability partnership; ) 25 HOWREY LLP, a limited liability ) partnership; and MORGAN LEWIS & ) 26 BOCKIUS LLP, a limited liability ) partnership, ) 27 ) Defendants. ) 28 ) Case 3:08-cv-05322-LB Document 65 Filed 11/25/09 Page 2 of 23 1 And related case: ) ) 2 ADAM BERGMAN, et al., ) 3 ) Plaintiffs, ) 4 v. ) THELEN LLP, a California limited ) 5 liability partnership, and DOES 1- ) 500, ) 6 Defendants. -
Strategist ®
The Bankruptcy LAW JOURNAL ® NEWSLETTERS Strategist Volume 31, Number 11 • September 2014 Law Firm Clients Defeat Bankruptcy Trustees in New York Court of Appeals By Michael L. Cook represent them, a major inconvenience for the ness.” 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81087, at *18. clients and a practical restriction on a client’s A law firm only owns unpaid compensa- The New York Court of Appeals, on July right to choose counsel.” Id. at *20. In addi- tion for legal services already provided with 1, 2014, in response to questions certified by tion, “clients might worry that their hourly fee respect to a client matter. In the words of the the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Cir- matters are not getting as much attention as New York court, “a client’s legal matter be- cuit, held that “pending hourly fee matters are they deserve if the [new] law firm is prevent- longs to the client, not the lawyer.” Id. at *15. not [a dissolved law firm’s] ‘property’ or ‘un- ed from profiting from its work on them.” Id. The Thelen and Coudert trustees’ litigation finished business’” under New York’s Partner- More important, New York has a “strong pub- will now return to the Second Circuit for dis- ship Law. In re Thelen LLP, _________ N.Y.3d lic policy encouraging client choice and, con- position. Because of this final ruling on appli- _________, 2014 N.Y. LEXIS 1577, *1 (July 1, comitantly, attorney mobility.” Id. at *21. Quot- cable New York Law, the court should direct 2014). -
When Law Firms Go Bankrupt — What Secured Lenders Can Learn from the Dewey Bankruptcy
PLACE PDF @ 88% REPRINTED FROM THE NOV/DEC 2012 ISSUE, VOL. 10, NO. 8 BANKRUPTCY UPDATE When Law Firms Go Bankrupt — What Secured Lenders Can Learn From the Dewey Bankruptcy BY JEFFREY A. WURST, ESQ When law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf filed for Chapter 11 protection, it was obligated to its secured creditors, among many others, led by JP Morgan on a $75 million line of credit facility. Jeffrey Wurst explains what led to Dewey’s collapse and offers advice regarding key indicators of a potential creditor’s fiscal irresponsibility. ictims of bankruptcy come in many forms. Dewey filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy They include the debtors themselves, as well Court for the Southern District of New York. Many theo- V as their secured and unsecured creditors. When ries abound as to the causes of Dewey’s collapse, but, law firms fall into bankruptcy, the secured lenders are essentially, the crux appears to be that Dewey guaran- often among the hardest hit. Typically, these secured teed an unsustainable amount of compensation to both lenders take security interests in all assets of the law newly acquired and longstanding partners. Hoping to firm when funding operations. The assets with the generate enormous fees off these highly compensated most value tend to be the cash and cash equivalents partners, Dewey subsequently took on debt to fund the and the accounts receivable. The problem with many failing business. However, the economic impact of the recent law firm bankruptcies is that cash on hand is recession forced Dewey to consolidate its debt. Further JEFFREY A. -
Coudert Brothers
north america Coudert Brothers LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK, PALO ALTO, SAN FRANCISCO, WASHINGTON llp europe ATTORNEYS AT LAW ANTWERP, BERLIN, BRUSSELS, FRANKFURT, GHENT, LONDON, MILAN, MOSCOW, MUNICH, PARIS, 1114 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS ROME, STOCKHOLM, NEW YORK, NY 10036-7703 ST. PETERSBURG TEL: (212) 626-4400 asia/pacific FAX: (212) 626-4120 ALMATY, BANGKOK, BEIJING, HONG KONG, JAKARTA, SINGAPORE, WWW.COUDERT.COM SYDNEY, TOKYO [email protected] associated offices BUDAPEST, MEXICO CITY, PRAGUE, SHANGHAI September 15, 2004 Jonathan A. Katz, Secretary Securities and Exchange Commission 450 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20549-0609 [email protected] Re: Registration Under the Advisers Act of Certain Hedge Fund Advisers -- Proposed Rule S7-30-04 Dear Mr. Katz: We represent a wide range of managers and sponsors of investment funds, including both investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and private investment funds operating under the exemption under either Section 3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act, and including substantial numbers of investment advisers based both within and outside the United States. We also represent a number of insurance companies, pension funds and other sophisticated investors, both U.S. and non-U.S., that invest in private investment funds. As a general preliminary comment, we are very concerned that the additional administrative and compliance burdens and costs imposed upon private fund managers required to register under the proposed new rule will, -
LA Office Pivotal to Jenner's Steady Growth
LOS ANGELES www.dailyjournal.com WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2012 LAW FIRM BUSINESS LA office pivotal to Jenner’s steady growth By Casey Sullivan River,” said Jenner’s firm wide managing “Many firms profess to have ‘synergy’ Daily Journal Staff Writer partner Susan Levy of the office’s impor- with laterals but when put to the test tance. “Opening in Los Angeles really of tracking import/export of work, fall ince setting its stake in Los Ange- solved those problems and assisted us with short. Jenner has a remarkable track re- les three years ago with a pair of existing client relationships.” cord of lawyers in L.A. exporting work Slateral hires from Kirkland & Ellis In 2011, the firm picked up insurance to other offices.” LLP, Chicago litigation shop Jenner & practice leaders Jerry Oshinsky and Linda Los Angeles managing partner Rick Block LLP has built a venerable platform Kornfeld from Dickstein Shapiro LLP and Richmond refuses to rest on his laurels, around the city’s middle market with an Mary Calkins from Howrey LLP. Later however, and is looking at further lateral aggressive expansion strategy, industry that year, it raided Hogan & Lovells US prospects. He has reached out to various experts say. LLP’s Los Angeles office, which saw its headhunters throughout the city with Lawyers at the firm’s Los Angeles office headcount slashed in half, for a group hopes of attaining litigators in several will raise their glasses on Thursday night of litigators led by entertainment heavy- practices. to celebrate its growth in the region at its weight Rick Stone. -
Educating Artists
DUKE LAW MAGAZINE MAGAZINE LAW DUKE Fall 2006 | Volume 24 Number 2 F all 2006 Educating Artists V olume 24 Number 2 Also: Duke Faculty on the Hill From the Dean Dear Alumni and Friends, University’s Algernon Sydney Sullivan Medal, awarded annually for outstanding commitment to service. This summer, four Duke law faculty members were Graduates Candace Carroll ’74 and Len Simon ’73 called to testify before Congressional committees. have used their talents and resources in support Professor Neil Vidmar appeared before the Senate of civil liberties, women’s rights, and public inter- Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, est causes; their recent leadership gift to Duke’s to address legislation on medical malpractice suits. Financial Aid Initiative helps Duke continue to attract Professor Madeline Morris testified before the Senate the best students, regardless of their ability to pay, Foreign Relations Committee regarding ratification of and gives them greater flexibility to pursue public the U.S.–U.K. extradition treaty. Professor James Cox interest careers. Other alumni profiled in this issue offered his views on proposed reforms for the conduct who are using their Duke Law education to make a of securities class action litigation to the House difference include Judge Curtis Collier ’74, Chris Kay Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee ’78, Michael Dockterman ’78, Andrea Nelson Meigs on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government ’94, and Judge Gerald Tjoflat ’57. Sponsored Enterprises. Professor Scott Silliman, I want to thank all alumni, friends, and faculty executive director of the Center on Law, Ethics and who contributed so generously to the Law School in National Security, was on Capitol Hill three times in the past year.