A&FP Updates

New Board Members

John I. Alber of Bryan Cave LLP authored last month's special-edition article on how to get custom-tailored Business Intelligence information onto the screens of individual attorneys. While John himself is clearly fluent in BI theoretical matters, he kept his article pragmatically focused on the nuts and bolts of actually implementing a workable system.

John came by his technology savvy through an unusual route. After earning an A.B. degree from Indiana University in 1974 and a J.D. from Southern Illinois University in 1979, he landed a judicial clerkship and then joined Bryan Cave in 1980. He made partner in 1988, but a year later embarked on a 10-year business venture, acquiring a company that developed software and databases for the transportation industry.

In 1999, he sold that company and rejoined Bryan Cave, where he is now the firm's Technology Partner. Bryan Cave takes information technology very seriously, to the extent that John focuses on it full-time. Along with his Client Technology Group, he oversees the firm's technology strategy, implementation, training, and ongoing improvement.

We look forward to additional articles from John that reflect his combined legal, technical and business expertise.

Professor William G. Ross is a leading analyst of the many difficult ethical issues that arise in legal billing. Bill teaches professional responsibility, civil procedure, and constitutional law and history at the Cumberland School of Law of Samford University in Birmingham, AL. Somehow, Bill also has found time to write books on legal history and other topics and to comment on current constitutional issues (eg, www.juris.law.pitt.edu).

A&FP readers have already had some exposure to Bill's work on legal billing and related ethical issues. Our July 2003 edition reviewed his 2003 book Legal Fees: Law and Management (coauthored with John W. Toothman — a former A&FP Board member). Bill also wrote “The Ethics of Billing by the Hour for 'Recycled' Work” (Aug. 2003), and “The Ethics of Double Billing” (Apr. 2004). Very longtime readers may recall Bill's first A&FP article, back in 1996. That article related to his penetrating study of legal billing, The Honest Hour: The Ethics of Time-Based Billing by Attorneys (Carolina Academic Press, 1996).

A&FP has long encouraged the pursuit of social and professional responsibility along with law firm profitability. Harmonizing those goals is no easy task, so we greatly look forward to Bill's assistance in providing coherent guidance to our readers.

Bidding Adieu

After years of fine service to A&FP, Lisa R. Smith and Joe Altonji, both of Hildebrandt International, are leaving the Board. Lisa and Joe will be focusing on their very active Hildebrandt consulting practices on law firm management, including strategy formulation, mergers, governance, partner compensation, partnership issues and financial analysis. Lisa can be reached in Washington DC at 202-471-4003 or [email protected], and Joe in Chicago at 312-857-1424 or [email protected].

We thank both of them for their many behind-the-scenes contributions such as recruiting interesting new authors and providing expert substantive guidance to the Editor-in-Chief.

As authors, Lisa and Joe have enriched A&FP with numerous memorable articles. Examples of these are Lisa's “Addressing Balance Sheet Issues in a Law Firm Merger” (May 2004), and “Outsourcing: The Next Generation” (March 2003). Examples of Joe's articles include: “Financial Analysis: Critical to Sound Strategy” (March 2004), and “Avoiding Extinction in a Turbulent Legal Market” (June 2003). We hope that we'll continue to get occasional contributions from them.

New Board Members

John I. Alber of Bryan Cave LLP authored last month's special-edition article on how to get custom-tailored Business Intelligence information onto the screens of individual attorneys. While John himself is clearly fluent in BI theoretical matters, he kept his article pragmatically focused on the nuts and bolts of actually implementing a workable system.

John came by his technology savvy through an unusual route. After earning an A.B. degree from Indiana University in 1974 and a J.D. from Southern Illinois University in 1979, he landed a judicial clerkship and then joined Bryan Cave in 1980. He made partner in 1988, but a year later embarked on a 10-year business venture, acquiring a company that developed software and databases for the transportation industry.

In 1999, he sold that company and rejoined Bryan Cave, where he is now the firm's Technology Partner. Bryan Cave takes information technology very seriously, to the extent that John focuses on it full-time. Along with his Client Technology Group, he oversees the firm's technology strategy, implementation, training, and ongoing improvement.

We look forward to additional articles from John that reflect his combined legal, technical and business expertise.

Professor William G. Ross is a leading analyst of the many difficult ethical issues that arise in legal billing. Bill teaches professional responsibility, civil procedure, and constitutional law and history at the Cumberland School of Law of Samford University in Birmingham, AL. Somehow, Bill also has found time to write books on legal history and other topics and to comment on current constitutional issues (eg, www.juris.law.pitt.edu).

A&FP readers have already had some exposure to Bill's work on legal billing and related ethical issues. Our July 2003 edition reviewed his 2003 book Legal Fees: Law and Management (coauthored with John W. Toothman — a former A&FP Board member). Bill also wrote “The Ethics of Billing by the Hour for 'Recycled' Work” (Aug. 2003), and “The Ethics of Double Billing” (Apr. 2004). Very longtime readers may recall Bill's first A&FP article, back in 1996. That article related to his penetrating study of legal billing, The Honest Hour: The Ethics of Time-Based Billing by Attorneys (Carolina Academic Press, 1996).

A&FP has long encouraged the pursuit of social and professional responsibility along with law firm profitability. Harmonizing those goals is no easy task, so we greatly look forward to Bill's assistance in providing coherent guidance to our readers.

Bidding Adieu

After years of fine service to A&FP, Lisa R. Smith and Joe Altonji, both of Hildebrandt International, are leaving the Board. Lisa and Joe will be focusing on their very active Hildebrandt consulting practices on law firm management, including strategy formulation, mergers, governance, partner compensation, partnership issues and financial analysis. Lisa can be reached in Washington DC at 202-471-4003 or [email protected], and Joe in Chicago at 312-857-1424 or [email protected].

We thank both of them for their many behind-the-scenes contributions such as recruiting interesting new authors and providing expert substantive guidance to the Editor-in-Chief.

As authors, Lisa and Joe have enriched A&FP with numerous memorable articles. Examples of these are Lisa's “Addressing Balance Sheet Issues in a Law Firm Merger” (May 2004), and “Outsourcing: The Next Generation” (March 2003). Examples of Joe's articles include: “Financial Analysis: Critical to Sound Strategy” (March 2004), and “Avoiding Extinction in a Turbulent Legal Market” (June 2003). We hope that we'll continue to get occasional contributions from them.