Transition Planning and Flexibitlity for Senior Partners
April 26, 2006
Many of the stories about senior partners pressured to retire so the next generation can take over are not pretty. They contradict long-held notions of what a partnership should be and neglect the long-time partners' non-financial needs.For younger generations in the workplace to get what they want from a transitioning agreement, there must be something in it for the more senior people too.
<b>Technology Uses & Costs</b>: Improved Cost Recovery for Imaging
April 26, 2006
Chapman and Cutler LLP is a Chicago-based law firm focused on innovative and practical legal solutions for complex financial transactions. In addition to traditional financing, the firm, with its pool of 180 attorneys located in three offices, is widely recognized for its experience in specialized areas of finance. Keeping up with the pace of change in the financial arena, as well as the rapidly evolving needs of Chapman and Cutler's clients, has consistently challenged our IT group to provide the Chapman user community with the most up-to-date and efficient technology solutions. This was our objective last summer when we set out to replace and upgrade our firm's cost recovery systems.
Dismantling the 'Great Wall' of Risk: The Key to Turning Lease Financing into a Mainstream Financial Product in China
March 29, 2006
A growing number of lessors exhibiting cautious optimism are slowly, but successfully, knocking down the 'great wall' that separates them from turning lease financing into a mainstream financial product in China. Investing in the Chinese leasing market can be a sound decision for lessors whose customers are asking for leases there; who can effectively manage the risks; and who are equipped to deal with major differences between the United States and China, which include language, culture, and the number and nature of business regulations.
Flexible About Billing? Tell Your Clients!
March 29, 2006
Most firms use a billing options analysis to determine the mix of hourly rates used to accomplish the work. However, almost any case or project can be broken into tasks; and each task can be priced separately and differently, to create multiple pricing schemes within a single transaction based on client preferences and value perceptions. <br>Different clients can be approached differently. Creating a matrix can demonstrate to clients those areas where costs can be controlled and where costs are inherent, and educate clients about what can be done to lower the overall cost of a project.
Avoiding Boilerplate Traps in Commercial Leases
March 29, 2006
Last month, Part One of this article provided tips by Christopher A. Jones and Scott A. Weinberg. This part discusses other possibly problematic lease provisions regarding the name/address of the building, rules and regulations, legal fees and expenses, and the sale/exchange and assignment of the lease by the landlord.
Dashboarding for Performance Management
March 29, 2006
Law firm managers seeking graphic insights for business monitoring and quantitative decision support have much to gain from Wayne W. Eckerson's new book Performance Dashboards: Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing Your Business (2006: John Wiley & Sons). In this article, I'll review some of Eckerson's ideas that seem highly applicable to large law firms, and add a few thoughts of my own.
Risk Management: What Your Firm May be Missing
March 29, 2006
In today's increasingly complex and regulated business environment, hundreds of different risks threaten law firms. While some of them can lead to malpractice claims that could destroy a firm's reputation and finances, others can be physically or operationally devastating.<br>Before a firm can begin to manage risk, it is important to define risk. In my many conversations with managing partners, executive directors or law firm CFOs, they all generally seem to think of risk in terms of insurance (malpractice, workers comp, business interruption, etc). While I agree this is one area of risk, the overall definition of risk is much broader. Risk is the potential for any issue to negatively affect an entity's ability to meet its objectives.
'Improper Benefit' Key To SEC Policy
March 28, 2006
On January 4, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox announced the SEC's unanimously adopted policy on the use of the its enforcement powers to impose monetary penalties on public companies for securities law violations. According to the policy, when deciding whether to impose fines, the SEC will focus on whether a corporation's violation provided an improper benefit to the company and its shareholders. If so, the SEC will be inclined to seek fines to deter future conduct. Conversely, the SEC will be less likely to pursue fines in cases where they would result in further harm to shareholders already injured by a corporation's actions. This article examines the new SEC policy regarding fines and its implications for corporations and shareholders.
Integrating Software Escrows into Intellectual Property Strategy
March 01, 2006
Software developers invest a great deal of time and effort developing complex code that performs unique functionality for which there is a viable market. These software developers typically offer software licenses that only license object code, <i>ie</i>, the code that can be read by a machine, rather than the source code, <i>ie</i>, code that can be deciphered and read by a person.
