The Wired GC Legal Top Ten for 2008
December 31, 2007 | Filed Under Select - Monthly Newsletter
I have always resisted doing a “yearly predictions” post, but the leftover egg nog may be clouding my judgment.
The complete list is being sent out later today to subscribers of Wired GC - Select. For those who haven’t yet subscribed, here are items 1 and 10. For those who subscribe before mid-January, the complete list will be sent upon signing up.
So, here we go…
1. The Budget will Rule (and there’s Less to Go Around).
Despite legal industry surveys that appear to show increases in spending, budgets will come under withering pressure in 2008. The GC will be called on the carpet on all major line items. The Financial Times saw this as well late last week (reg req $$), when an editorial trenchantly described two delusions that persist at many professional services firms: “The first is the belief that the good times are going to last for ever; the second, a tendency to fall for their own story: that what they provide is absolutely crucial to their clients’ success and that their business models are therefore invulnerable.” As credit tightens and the global economy slows, there’s less need for major spending, and more focus on everything else.
Items 2-10 follow from number 1, like sand through an hourglass (billable?). Number 10 is something I’ve never totally understood:
10. More Law Firm Mergers (and less that Make Long-Term Sense).
There have been a few mergers announced in late 2007 that will (potentially) close in 2008. One, involving the Husch and Blackwell firms, has a distinct Midwest feel; the other, involving Mayer, Brown and Hong Kong, more global. I wish these firms well, but as we saw in number 9, law firms are no longer the major focus of most enlightened in-house counsel. You can’t buy lawyers (you just rent them for awhile) and many transactions seem to be more about shuffling deck chairs than creating market differentiation or strategic client value.
There’s also a bonus “prediction.” It’s somewhat cryptic, because (a) I know it will come true and (b) I can’t tell why right now.
So now it’s time to party like it’s 1999, just with a designated driver like it’s 2007.
The Buck Stops Here…
December 24, 2007 | Filed Under Nice Work if You Can Get It, Unplugged - Audio
… someone stopped by the Wired GC family compound this morning. I take it as a sign to work less and celebrate more.
Merry Christmas to all…
And Rudolph recommends some music for your holiday listening pleasure…
(From Suburban Sprawl; 2002 edition; Adam Kampa, “Jingle Bells”)
Work Product on Steroids
December 13, 2007 | Filed Under Nice Work if You Can Get It
As a public service, I have prepared an executive summary of the Mitchell Report for the time-starved counsel.
___________________________________
To: Bud
From: George
Re: 20 Months of Heavy Lifting
Date: 13 Dec 2007
There was anabolic steroid use in Major League Baseball. A Mets batboy told me.
P.S. Enclosed is DLA Piper’s statement for services rendered (and within budget at less than $50,000 per page).
P.P.S. I guess the Rocket is not amused.
____________________________________
Back to the Flu, Sure
December 10, 2007 | Filed Under Crisis Planning
As I was getting my flu shot last week, I realized that it’s been awhile since I deposited any bird pandemic droppings here.
Then I saw this report earlier today about a potential human infection in China. You can bet that pandemic media coverage will spool up over the next few months, even without a major outbreak.
And that leads to CEOs and board members asking “What are we doing about X?” sort of questions.
So here’s a few resources:
– NPR did an interesting interview on the subject a few months ago; they covered a Treasury Department scenario planning exercise.
– That Treasury-sponsored event has an “Untitled” web page here. There is a treasure trove of information, which is to be expected since the financial services industry is ahead of just about everyone else on crisis planning. (Note: some of the material says “not for public distribution,” so it may not be live indefinitely).
– The federal government has a general website here.
– A CDC-sponsored website is helpful as well.
Any discussion of pandemics (bird flu, SARS, or otherwise) is really about crisis planning. On steroids, if you will.
A closer look might be wise for many companies.
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