London Calling
January 16, 2008 | Filed Under International
The Financial Times offers a summary of a McKinsey report that London is eclipsing New York as the world’s major financial center.
The change may have occurred already, not least because US markets are beset by credit woes, according to research by McKinsey Global Institute, a think-tank affiliated to the consultancy.
“We think the differential growth rates are so significant that it is quite likely Europe has overtaken the US,” said Diana Farrell, author of the report.
As go markets, so go clients. And as go clients, so go law firms.
I commented on this last year, but thought it was more regulation-driven then.
Better Client Relationships
January 11, 2008 | Filed Under The Client Speaks, Law Firm Trends
What law firm didn’t make this a resolution for 2008?
The business intelligence experts at IOMA are hosting an audio conference next Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 2:00 pm EST entitled “Maximize Firm Profits by Improving Client Relationships” (emphasis added). More information, including registration details, is available here.
I will be sharing the virtual platform with Peter Sullivan, a partner at Hughes Hubbard and Reed. We’re planning a timely and lively take on what law firm clients want, and what to do about it. There will be plenty of time for Q&A as well, so this will be interactive and (hopefully) interesting.
Give the program agenda a look; we’d welcome your participation.
Private Equity and Litigation
January 8, 2008 | Filed Under Litigation
The rise of private equity equity has been a boon to law firms. Especially deal lawyers. When deals go awry, the PE crowd doesn’t doesn’t hesitate to move from the boardroom to the courtroom. The recent fast track litigation between Cerberus and United Rental demonstrates that.
But with private equity, there is always the discipline of calculation. The recent settlement of the proposed Blackstone-PHH acquistion shows clients with a lot of money still don’t like paying lawyers if the return isn’t right.
The Financial Times has more here (reg req $$), explaining why PHH’s changed fortunes (owing to market conditions and available financing) made it a no-go. The FT has a trenchant observation which captures how savvy business clients look at major litigation:
Blackstone’s decision means that there will not be a long drawn out legal battle with all the uncertainty and expense that entails.
I bet there will be more settlements like this. I termed this phenomenon “Litigation is Revealed as a Failure, not a Strategy.” It’s #3 in “The Wired GC Legal Top 10 for 2008.”
I promise to stop flogging that report if you subscribe here so I can send you a copy.
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