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LAW FIRM MERGERS - Part 1.: A Strategic Checklist
January 11, 2012
LAW FIRM MERGERS – Part 1 : A Strategic ChecklistWe are bringing back an earlier series on law firm mergers since the number of mergers jumped 65% in 2011, according to the American Lawyer. The focus will be on why most underachieving law firm mergers share one fundamental deficiency. Over the next several columns, I'll identify a checklist to be used by the negotiating partners and marketing leadership to deal with it.The failure to work a practicable marketing strategy into the very soul of the merger – before it happens, while it hapens and after it happens. Keep in mind that marketing is not just self-promotional activity but the process by which the institution actually defines itself. It is also used by others, such as in recruitment and business development to define the firm externally. Marketing likewise has an immediate impact on internal perceptions.The first of the strategic questions from both firms' marketing leadership should include:1. Who is going to care about the merger? The answer, of course, is anyone directly affected by it, mainly clients and internal stakeholders. So marketing leadership must provide for direct and well-timed outreach to both constituencies, by phone whenever appropriate.Stay tuned for more.
LAW FIRM MERGERS – Part 1 : A Strategic ChecklistWe are bringing back an earlier series on law firm mergers since the number of mergers jumped 65% in 2011, according to the American Lawyer. The focus will be on why most underachieving law firm mergers share one fundamental deficiency. Over the next several columns, I'll identify a checklist to be used by the negotiating partners and marketing leadership to deal with it.The failure to work a practicable marketing strategy into the very soul of the merger – before it happens, while it hapens and after it happens. Keep in mind that marketing is not just self-promotional activity but the process by which the institution actually defines itself. It is also used by others, such as in recruitment and business development to define the firm externally. Marketing likewise has an immediate impact on internal perceptions.The first of the strategic questions from both firms' marketing leadership should include:1. Who is going to care about the merger? The answer, of course, is anyone directly affected by it, mainly clients and internal stakeholders. So marketing leadership must provide for direct and well-timed outreach to both constituencies, by phone whenever appropriate.Stay tuned for more.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent Trolls
With trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.