Calling all workaholics! Be smart & take some time off for a rejuvenating nap..at work! "The Power Room at one Raleigh law office isn't a place where high-profile deals get done or important meetings occur. "It's for snoozing. "As workers log in longer hours, there is increasing interest in the revitalizing power of naps. One company in New York sells 20- minute sessions in nap...
Hmm, ever thought about moving to Arizona? Sounds like firms in Phoenix are heating up! "It may be a dry heat in Phoenix, but it's also a hot legal market for some national law firms moving into the desert city to take advantage of the region's flourishing economy. "Ranked the fifth-largest city in the nation with 1.5 million people at the center of a metropolitan area of 3.8 million,...
Oh, boy, firms expanding & lawyers changing firms. See the details in this San Diego Union-Tribune news article:"The Boston law firm Goodwin Procter has recruited prominent local biotechnology lawyer Stephen C. Ferruolo to launch an office in San Diego as part of the firm's push into California. "Stephen C. Ferruolo is expected to take much of his client base with him. Ferruolo, 56,...
What does this news mean for paralegals? I'm guessing higher required billable hours & maybe higher salaries too: "Although law firm leaders at a recent conference publicly pooh-poohed predictions that industry profitability would stumble, in a new survey they say increasing expenses will cut into their bottom line this year. "Lawyers can expect to be pushed for more billable hours...
I'm thinking this article means it might be a good time for SOX paralegals to seek raises: "With business booming at the nation's law firms, the fees they charge will climb steadily. Expect the cost of corporate legal services to continue to increase an average of one and a half times the rate of inflation in coming years. The trend will vary widely by region, with the largest jumps...
Well, that sure sounds like a smart slap at not-so-tech-savvy firms, huh? "When Aon Corp. slashed its outside counsel roster from about 400 to 23 law firms in 2005, it quizzed the firms about their tech offerings. 'We asked them about extranets, e-billing and litigation management,' says David Cambria, director of legal operations at the Chicago-based insurance giant. "But Cambria says...
It's certainly smart to face this possibility now, right? Even if the law biz doesn't cool: "Will the good times cease to roll for leading law firms? "With some gloom -- though not so much doom -- industry observers forecasted a cooling of the legal market over the next five years at the Law Firm Leaders Forum, held Thursday and continuing today in San Francisco. Ever-increasing...
Well, this is interesting. Think it will hurt paralegal advancement into these positions? "Ron Friedmann posts on a new trend at large firms: use of nonpracticing lawyers as managers. He writes that firms now hire nonpracticing lawyers for jobs such as marketing, e-discovery, knowledge management, professional development and practice support. There are some pitfalls, of course, as Friedmann...
Yeah, law firm breakups spawn messy news. Almost as bad as a divorce: "At one time, the breakup of a big, prestigious law firm was rare. But since the technology boom and bust, implosions of once highflying firms like Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison and Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault have occurred with more frequency. "Yet the bankruptcy of Coudert Brothers still stands out. Eighteen...
The 'good, bad, & ugly' of law firm mergers is described quite well in this article: "For top lawyers at big-name firms, a prestigious megamerger can look like the beginning of happily ever after. "But for professional staff like paralegals, legal secretaries, administrators and law librarians, merger news may prompt a serious case of wedding-night jitters. Largely left out of the...