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Keywords: Uncertain, Unstable, Changing, Chaotic, Complex, Technology, AI, Private Equity, Talent, Litigation Finance

[Editor’s note: This post is a large excerpt from Patrick’s and Michael’s annual survey of law firm leaders. By a wide margin, what makes this year’s survey so interesting are the number of issues that five or ten years ago, no one would have seen coming—AI, PE investment in law firms. Many thanks to Patrick and Michael for sharing these interesting and provocative findings. wdh.]

Everybody wants to know about the future, as it often feels as though our world is changing so fast that we wonder what’s next. Markets shift, emerging technologies shake up old business models, new competitors arrive, and unrecognized trends assume center stage. Continue Reading The 2026 ‘burning issues’ confronting firm leaders (355)

Norma Rae (1979), 20th Century Fox.  Photo from The Hollywood Archives, Alamy.

Higher profits come at a cost.  Be careful what you wish for.

As a multiple-decade veteran of Big Law, I vividly remember the many debates about whether practicing law was a profession or a business.  I was often leading these discussions as the firm-wide managing partner of operations of a global law firm.  How could a firm with over 1,000 lawyers, over $1 billion in revenue, and over 20 offices be anything but a business?

In an attempt to gain the latest insights on strategy, finance, human resources, outsourcing, and IT, I eagerly read every issue of Harvard Business Review.  I remember years ago having to overcome the partners’ resistance to being paid only by direct deposit and to increasing the partner-to-secretary ratio beyond 1-to-1.  Now that I am gone from Big Law and managing a law-school legal clinic where I am still practicing law (but with startups and other micro businesses), I frequently question whether being so focused on productivity and efficiency in my former life was worth the price.  Perhaps giving up a few ticks in profits per partner (PPP) would have made my firm a better place.

In this Labor Day essay, I’ll offer some second thoughts on the business of law,
Continue Reading Labor Day reflections, including some second thoughts, on the business of law (327)