Associate Overcompensation?
February 03, 2006
As described in the following article abridgements from A&FP sibling publications, associate salaries and rates are headed up once again, pressures from cost-conscious clients notwithstanding. I have a possibly discomfiting view to offer on this, but first let's take a look at the bandwagon effect now in progress in some major U.S. legal markets.
Building a State-of-the-Art Anti-Bribery Program
February 03, 2006
Anti-bribery laws have serious consequences for anyone doing business internationally. Violations come to light during routine M&A due diligence, when competitors complain or employees blow the whistle, or when companies voluntarily disclose as a part of their Sarbanes-Oxley reporting obligations. When they do come to light, strong internal controls may shield executives from some liability and restore confidence amongst shareholders and regulators.
<b>Commentary: </b>In Law Firm Marketing Today, the Glass Is Half Full
February 02, 2006
When legal marketers are ahead of their lawyers, or when lawyers are ahead of their legal marketers, their expectations of one another are out of sync. These days, the departure of a marketer, whether by choice or with a nudge, presents an opportunity for a firm to reassess where it is, where it wants to go and how it will get there. Each new marketing hire represents an opportunity for more precise alignment of a marketer's skills and characteristics with a firm's strategic and financial objectives.
Using the Write-Speak-Sell Approach To Business Development
February 02, 2006
In today's world, corporations live and die by the success of their brands. Unfortunately, the world of law remains remarkably detached from what is essentially the lifeblood of the majority of industries. It is often difficult to differentiate one top-tier law firm from another, which is in sharp contrast from the marketing efforts of other service sectors such as accounting, management consulting or investment banking. Branding is essential to business development, regardless of industry sector.
The LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings
February 02, 2006
For more than 135 years, attorneys have relied on the LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory to provide them with authoritative information on the worldwide legal profession. Martindale-Hubbell's exclusive Peer Review Lawyer Rating System evaluates attorneys and law firms in the U.S. and Canada with its independent peer review process.
Client Feedback: Have You Taken It To The Next Level?
February 02, 2006
Is it possible that your firm has gone as far as it can with its present approaches to client feedback ' that is, surveys conducted either by written/Web questionnaires, by telephone interviews or by in-person interviews? Has the value received reached a plateau and are you now experiencing diminishing returns? If so, isn't now the time for your firm to be exploring ways to take client feedback to the next level ' especially with the firm's largest and most valued clients?
Note From The Editor
February 02, 2006
Well it's a new year and I am hoping that it will be an exciting one. This year in addition to the MLF 50, which is open to firms of 100 attorneys or more,…
Overmessaging
February 02, 2006
Dwelling on your "message" (or what you want to say) at the onset of any reporter's inquiry, or at any point during the reporting process to the exclusion of all of the other component parts of the reporter/source/communications professional interaction (deadlines, non-verbal cues, relationships, etc.), is sure to result in less than optimal coverage. This can only be described as "overmessaging" or "over-PRing" a situation.
The Market Power Presumption Revisited: Court to Consider Whether Patents Confer Market Power in Tying Cases
February 02, 2006
Antitrust law has long prohibited producers with market power from engaging in tying arrangements, agreements in which the sale of a highly desired "tying" product is conditioned on the purchase of a second item. The Supreme Court has held that sellers must exert power over the marketplace to be guilty of illegal tying under the Sherman Act. Does the existence of a patent on a product create a presumption of market power? On June 20, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in <i>Illinois Tool Works Inc. v. Independent Ink, Inc.</i>, 2005 WL 770269, *1 (U.S.) (2005) to consider this question.
