Women partners shelve work-life balance talk, say money and power needed for real change

Sullivan Hill managing partner Madeline Cahill-Boley doesn’t want to talk about work-life balance. Neither does Lisa Borsook, executive partner of Canadian law firm WeirFoulds. Nor does Patricia Gillette, a rainmaking partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, whose book of business ranges from $5 million to $10 million. Although greater acceptance…

Feb 4, 2013 2:55 PM CST

Working for free: Lawyers incorporating pro bono into their lives talk about its rewards, challenges

Over the years, and especially during the last several decades, pro bono legal service has taken many forms. A lawyer files an insurance claim for a neighbor after a fire. Two attorneys help a group of Vietnam veterans get recognized as a nonprofit by the IRS. The general counsel of…

Feb 2, 2013 12:30 AM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: Pool of trained associates will eventually dry up, blogger warns

The pool is drying up To an extent, in-house law departments and “New Normal” law firms are benefiting from the investment that “old normal” law firms make in training new associates. “My recollection of the stat is that after five years only two out of ten new associates will still…

Feb 1, 2013 2:45 PM CST

New lawyers and military veterans both benefit from school’s legal clinic

Feb 1, 2013 8:50 AM CST

Should firms move to the cloud? Legal IT professionals are split

Feb 1, 2013 8:20 AM CST

ABA produces guidebook on lobbying for state and local bar associations

Feb 1, 2013 7:20 AM CST

Is ‘try’ the ‘most dangerous word to use at work?’ What other words signal failure at the office?

Try is the most dangerous word to use at work, Brad Hoover, CEO of the Internet company Grammarly, writes at Fortune magazine. “When I hear employees say they will ‘try to meet a deadline,’ ‘try to close a deal,’ or ‘try to handle a customer issue,’ my next question is…

Jan 30, 2013 8:40 PM CST

Who’s up, who’s down in partner pay

Major, Lindsey & Africa’s 2012 survey of partners at large law firms showed some significant differences in income depending on not only equity or nonequity status but also location, type of practice, compensation system, gender and race. According to the study, “A total of 2,228 responses were received from law…

Jan 26, 2013 12:30 AM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: Is BigLaw ‘culture’ worth preserving?; In defense of plastic grocery bags

The myth of law firm ‘collegiality’ Law firms should “pay heed to culture” when developing business plans, contemplating mergers, or making lateral hires, according to Citi Private Bank’s Law Firm Group and Hildebrandt Consulting’s recent client advisory (PDF). At Law21, lawyer/consultant Jordan Furlong notes this passage from the advisory: “Law…

Jan 25, 2013 2:30 PM CST

How much do you spend on clothes for work? Do you have trouble sticking to a budget?

Last week at Corporette, blogger Kat Griffin asked her readers what their annual clothes budget is—if they have one. And also last week, blog The Jane Dough noted a 2012 United Kingdom survey suggesting that women there spend 18 percent of their salaries on their work wardrobes. So this week,…

Jan 23, 2013 9:16 PM CST

Is it worth the risk to hire lawyers from a failing firm?

ABA Journal business of law reporter Rachel M. Zahorsky discusses with Beazley’s Brant Weidner and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner Kevin S. Rosen the ways firms can address and mitigate the risks of hiring laterals from a dissolving firm.

Jan 22, 2013 2:30 PM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: Quitting law, by the numbers | The best word processor, word-count wise

Former lawyers confess Why do lawyers leave the law, and how do they feel about their choices? Adam Smith, Esq. and Above the Law teamed up late last year and polled 430 lawyers who had left practice—about half of them expats of Am Law 200 firms. The most common answer…

Jan 18, 2013 2:30 PM CST

New-model firm plans hiring spree, 50 to 100 lawyers a year

One part law firm and one part business entity, Washington D.C.-based Clearspire aims to expand its nontraditional legal services model across the country with the addition of 50 to 100 former BigLaw lawyers each year for the next five years. With brick-and-mortar outposts recently opened in New York, Los Angeles…

Jan 17, 2013 5:25 PM CST

What annoying or distasteful habits of co-workers are driving you crazy?

Last week, we noted a complaint (later withdrawn) accusing a Social Security Administration employee of creating a hostile work environment by continuously passing gas. The complaint said the worker broke wind more than 60 times in a 12-week period after four meetings with superiors to discuss the problem, according to…

Jan 16, 2013 7:28 PM CST

How to practice law in a ‘sharing economy’ (Podcast)

Jan 14, 2013 2:30 PM CST