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Beware The Temptations of Short-Term Thinking

By Phyllis Weiss Haserot
October 02, 2003

I recently had a discussion with a client about the issue of firms backing away from supporting practices that were hot and now are in the doldrums but are likely to bounce back. He had been vigorously sought after as an information technology and corporate lawyer just a few years ago. Since technology is not bound to disappear from or be less important in our lives, these areas of practice can be predicted to have a sunny future.

Most practices tend to be cyclical, but firms also tend to have short memories. Despite the fact that senior lawyers and managers have seen the patterns before, they may be over-zealous in adding attorneys (usually expending sizable recruiting fees) and resources to capitalize on an area when it is hot and then back away or go as far as pulling the plug when it cools down ' even if it is an area with good future promise. This is short-term, reactionary thinking rather than taking a strategic position and investing in it for the long term. When the area turns up again, they will be caught unprepared to handle the work and will have demoralized a significant portion of their personnel. This way of operating discourages loyalty and encourages people to keep the lines open with headhunters and jump from place to place.

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