The following post originally appeared on Forbes | April 12, 2016 While Africa’s 2015 GDP is down 1.2% from 4.6% in 2014, it is still among the fastest growing regions in world. As a continent with a population of over 1.2B people, massive commodity repositories – 1/10th of the world’s oil, 1/3rd of its mineral reserves, and 2/3rd of the world’s diamonds – and approximately 60% of the world’s uncultivated, arable land, Africa is set to play an increasingly important role as capital continues to shift in the global economy. And […]
The following post originally appeared on Forbes | April 5, 2016 It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages. ~Friedrich Nietzsche So many times I’ve heard the saying that a merger is like a marriage. I suppose this is because it’s true. They start out with a courtship. And like any courtship they are driven by needs and wants. Something is lacking in the respective parties’ camps, and presumably the right connection […]
The following post originally appeared on Forbes | February 24, 2016 A classic is a book that doesn’t have to be written again. ~ W. E. B. Du Bois The classic law firm model – or, in the words of Dirk Harlacher, the “one collegial” firm – looks much different than today’s goliath law firms. Law was practiced from a single office. Values, methods of operation, work expectations, and the like – i.e., cultures – were highly homogenous. Partner compensation […]
The following post originally appeared on Forbes | February 2, 2016 By the age of 23, attorney Jason Honigman had argued his first case before the Michigan Supreme Court, winning against William Henry Gallagher, one of Michigan’s most venerated attorneys. Less than 10 years later, he found himself arguing and winning before the US Supreme Court, reversing a prior precedent. A brilliant attorney, Honigman was very successful at a young age, and ultimately left the law firm of Sempliner, Dewey, […]
The following post originally appeared on Forbes | January 25, 2016 When law firms are asked if in-house legal departments are their competition, the answer is usually the same: “No.” I suspect this response is measured, though. When you consider the many transfers occurring in today’s market – those of influence over fee setting, lawyers and matters moving in-house, and the diffusion of consumer-provider relationships, to name a few – I think the real answer is a bit more complicated. […]
The following post originally appeared on Forbes | January 11, 2016 Stephen Hawking to the BBC: “[Artificial intelligence] would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate … Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete, and would be superseded.” Bill Gates on Reddit: “I am in the camp that is concerned about super intelligence. First the machines will do a lot of jobs for us and not be super intelligent. That should […]
The following post originally appeared on Forbes | December 14, 2015 Trust is built with consistency. ~Lincoln Chafee Though there are numerous reasons why a client might develop a relationship with a global firm, certainly, cross-jurisdictional advice ranks among the top. Importantly, the quality of advice, and the experience – the feel – that clients have with the firm, need to remain consistent across offices and borders. This is a tall order. Scores of financials, cultures, regulations, and general methods […]
The following post originally appeared on Forbes | December 8, 2015 Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust. ~Jesse Owens Awards, accolades, rankings – while these are the glamorous lodestars by which competitive compasses may be set, when finally acquired at the end of a journey, professionals learn that these are the tip of an iceberg that is heavy with dedication, persistence, time, and sacrifice. And while all of these investments are vital to success, in complex competitive environments, relationships, […]
The following post originally appeared on Forbes | November 11, 2015 Change before you have to. ~Jack Welch Configuration (or archetype) theory concerns itself with the relationship between the design of an organization, its people, and the way that the firm functions and evolves. Importantly, the theory recognizes that as cultures, norms, policies, procedures, and day-to-day routines take hold, inertia sets in – particularly when the organization is successful. To break this inertia – as physics and management studies tell […]
The following post originally appeared on Forbes | November 4, 2015 When you’re young, you’re not afraid of what comes next. You’re excited by it. ~Dave Grohl It was the late 80′s, and two venture capital attorneys were sitting at a small kitchen table somewhere outside of Richmond, VA. Reviewing, again, their plan for going off on their own, they finally found the courage to pull the trigger. The plan was clear cut: keep it small; only do venture capital […]