I remember the story about Winston Churchill's most famous commencement address. You must have hear this story.This is long after his days as wartime prime minister. By the time of this speech, he was now revered to an almost cultlike degree.After a lengthy and florid introduction by the University President, the venerable minister walked ponderously up to the podium. He carefully removed his hat. He slowly hooked his walking stick to the podium's side and slowly checked his watch. Then,... Read Full Story

Executive Summary: I'm on the move. Look for me at a theatre near you. Soonish.Long version:I've been having TONS of fun by presenting my seven-part lecture series on professional development to folks at a special program set up between the City of San Francisco and the local Goodwill.We have an ever-growing group of individuals who are interested to hear all about growing professionally 'from the ground up.' It is so motivating and encouraging to hear their stories and their new-found mot... Read Full Story

I'm providing several lists of opportunities for attorneys who no longer have their 2008 platforms. Scroll down if you are in a hurry. This installment is for the big-law types that want to stay there (or return). Options for other categories follow in upcoming posts. The below is largely from the associate perspective, with some info for partners as well.Introductory remarks: Decide. Now!Since I have last posted, roughly 10% of 'big-law' attorneys lost their positions. Probably more than... Read Full Story

I've been told that no one wants to read a blog about ideas, philosophy, art, culture: you know, boring stuff that "doesn't make money."We'll see about that. In my view what we need more of if folks who are busy thinking about their respective industries--and their respective lives, cultures, countries, political parties and favorite novels---and start putting it all together. What do you say? Shall we start a dialog about life, zen, business and sales all at once? I think so.I can tell y... Read Full Story

I've been waiting since November 16th for something to say (date of my last post). That is, something that hasn't already been said 100 times by 100 media outlets. That's because no one has any idea what is going on in the economy. No one knows whether the promise of a crush of new litigation work will materialize. No one knows whether the whole game is going to come crashing down around our collective ears. It has not been easy to make revenue forecasts for 2009, I can tell y... Read Full Story

I'll spare you my usual 'rant' of the day (namely: why you ABSOLUTELY should be on 'linkedin' and exploit that amazingly versatile and powerful tool). Suffice it to say I found an interesting discussion there which I'll respond to further here.The question is where the legal industry will be in 2030. An intriguing question. Some enterprising professionals are happy to share their thoughts with you for a mere $1,000. Check out the free version here. These folks at... Read Full Story

Things are not so different as they seem. What is right, what is prudent, what is good business and networking sense are all still true. And will remain so.It has been difficult the past couple of weeks to write anything on a blog such as this which is really all about commentary on the practice and management of law practice. Maybe it's because I read about 75 different news sources on a given day, but it is all sounding more the same than it even usually does.Yes, we all here every d... Read Full Story

In a quiet pool near a silent grove, Narcissus fell in love with a reflection of his youthful face, and died. Not a complicated plot. Curiously, while short, this story is recounted numerous times in Greek mythology, and in a variety of interesting forms. Obviously, the myth must have communicated something important in Greek culture. With the proper understanding, it can provide vital information to us in our time as well. My hypothesis is that this illusive character from Greek mytholo... Read Full Story

If you've been around as long as I have, you've seen this headline and the cycle it refers to, at least a half-dozen times. Click here for a concise summary from the AmLaw Daily. Yet, this time around, the move toward keeping more work in-house will be (more or less) permanent. That's because the current trend is not the usual economic see-saw that corporate management usually indulges in. Rather, it's a function of the in-house bar increasing its relative strenght within co... Read Full Story

You can't fight the facts. Even though death and taxes seem pretty darn unavoidable, they are less so than the 1st and 2d law of thermodynamics. Let's get it straight: 1) The energy of the universe remains constant; 2) entropy in any system increases over time. That means any closed or open system over time will tend to slow down, run down, get cooler, fall apart, unless energy outside the system is applied.I was inspired by Paul Lippe's article (AmLaw Daily) about Heller's do... Read Full Story