Chasing Unicorns: Changing Law Firm Culture
Photo by Cottonbro Studio at Pexels Culture eats strategy for breakfast – Peter Drucker Back when I was a managing partner in a law firm, I did not think nearly enough about law firm culture. I really should have, but not only because it is the secret to business success. Looking back, I realize I […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: “Jobs bloodbath”sparks DLA Piper cuts to paternity leave | Good looking lawyers win more frequently in courtroom: study | Crown: directors, officers face increased OHSA prosecution risks | Federal Court OKs RCMP’s lengthy delays in harrassment cases | Receivables crisis coming for law firms?
By Julius Melnitzer | April 16, 2024 DLA REDUCES PATERNITY LEAVE IN WAKE OF ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY The Daily Mail reports that global firm DLA Piper has reduced non-partners’ (other than birth mothers) paternity leave by six months, leaving them with 12 months’ eligibility, four less than the 16-week average of most major law firms. “It […]
Reap What You Sow
Photo by Rattasat at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | April 11, 2024 Hey law firms! Have you given much thought to partners approaching retirement, and calculated what their retirement may cost you? I reckon that there are at least five different attitudes that a retiring partner (“RP”) may have. Here they are: Each of these types of […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Blakes absent, but Gowling shines on YouTube | Investment fund liable for “greenwashing” | Lawyer forgives client who stabbed him in court | Ukraine wants to trademark “go fuck yourself” war slogan | Adultery now legal
By Julius Melnitzer | April 4, 2024 BIGLAW MISSES THE YOUTUBE BOAT According to Eric Troutman, a prominent class action defence lawyer with California-based Troutman Amin LLP, writing in Practice Source, YouTube is “the world’s second most visited website and an absolutely critical communication channel for businesses (including law firms) seeking to engage with new […]
How Strong Are Your Roots?
By Murray Gottheil | March 26, 2024 The image that accompanies this post is of a massive tree in the forest behind my house which came down in a storm, bringing down another tree, which brought down a third. As you can see, the root system was wide, but shallow. These trees might have looked majestic, […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: Maple Leafs’ captain fighting CRA demand for $6.8 million | LST: Child abuser can practise law | Alberta CA justice joins BLG | Remote work, wellbeing slow law firm productivity | Bullying of law students ‘relatively high’
By Julius Melnitzer | March 25, 2024 TAVARES TAKES ON CRA Maple Leafs’ captain John Tavares is fighting the CRA’s claim that he owes $6.8 million in taxes for 2018, when he signed a seven-year US$77 million contract with the team and moved from New York to Toronto. The agreement included a $70.8 million bonus, […]
It’s all about the people, people
By Murray Gottheil | March 22, 2024 I lived on a small street in the Big City for 11 years, and during that time barely knew my neighbours. I neither asked them for help, nor did they ask me. When I bought my house in the country, I used it as a cottage before moving there […]
When The Time Comes, Get The Hell Out
Photo by Ron Lach at Pexels By Murray Gottheil | March 19, 2024 The worst partners meeting that I ever attended ended with me storming out, telling one of my partners to fuddle-duddle off (not in those exact words), and threatening to leave the firm. I was the managing partner and highest earning partner at the […]
BARE BONES BRIEFS: | Litigation funders in 80% of cases | Humans not necessary: AIs negotiate contract amongst themselves | Fani Willis clone? | Lawyer elevates courtroom tardiness | IBA wellness guidelines |
By Julius Melnitzer | March 18, 2024 LITIGATION FUNDING PROLIFERATING The Law Society Gazette reports on a London Solicitors Litigation Association report which concludes that 80% of London litigators are working on cases where a litigation funder has financed at least one party. Although a recent UK Supreme Court decision makes some such arrangements unenforceable, […]
The Simple Yet Unacceptable Answer to the Mental Health Crisis in the Legal Profession
By Murray Gottheil | March 13, 2024 By the time that I figured out that I could no longer cope with the pressures of the legal profession and that something had to give, I had been practicing business law for 33 years. What can I say… I am a slow learner. It took me almost another […]