“Low-overhead high-talent firms”! I like it. Hat Tip: Minnesota Litigator.
When will the billable hour finally die?
Lawyer have probably been discussing the death of the billable hour since, well, the birth of the billable hour. The debate continues, and some heavy hitters recently weighed in at an ABA meeting in Atlanta. Lawyers and their clients are considering new structures such as fixed fees, flat fees and success fees, among others. [...]
Nice work if you can get it?
The Minnesota Court of Appeals issued an opinion this week in the case of Williams v. Heins, Mills, & Olson that considers such interesting legal issues as misrepresentation-by-omission, minority shareholder rights, punitive damages and prejudgment issue. What I found really interesting, however, was the peek it provided into the finances of class-action securities fraud [...]
Small firms make gains in recession
No surprise to this big firm refugee, but a new study by a legal recruiter confirms that the recession has helped drive Fortune 500 clients tosmall, midsize and boutique law firms. “Because of their lower overhead and operating costs, small firms can offer the same legal services for significantly less than large firms. This [...]
Good Service = Good Karma
Here is a great little story about a car mechanic going the extra mile (pun intended). Treat your clients well, because what goes around comes around.
News from across the pond: a no staff, paperless law office
It seems British lawyers are jumping on the “virtual law firm” bandwagon. They seek to develop “a fresh way of working,” using technology ”to give a streamlined service without the traditional law firm infrastructure” and offering ” greater value for money and certainty on fees.” Sounds familiar!
The Virtual Law Firm
I just stumbled across an interesting article called “Building a Virtual Law Firm” by Joseph Kashi, an attorney in Alaska. His article was written six years ago, but it highlights some trends that have only gained speed since then. Kashi first points out that there is nothing new about “virtual” law relationships; most attorneys regularly [...]
Minnesota lawyers are a bargain!
Seth Leventhal, in his excellent blog Minnesota Litigator, points out what many of us have known for a long time: Minnesota lawyers are a “bargain” compared to their brethern from Chicago and the coasts. While the blended hourly rate charged by Minnesota lawyers representing one of the Petters defendants was $309, their Chicago counterparts were [...]
How should in-house lawyers demonstrate their value?
For my in-house counsel friends, here is a great article from Law360 on ways to demonstrate and quantify your value to the company and resist the drive to outsource legal services. Four key elements: there are some tasks that you can do more cost effectively; you know and understand the business better; you are [...]
