tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25859636994725106312024-03-07T22:19:46.382-08:00The Law Firm Office AdvisorThe one-stop source for managing partners, executive directors, and law firm administrators to gain insight into their real estate and office space needs.Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-87445884316997454192009-05-08T10:36:00.000-07:002009-05-08T10:39:08.360-07:00Associates: Keep Quiet - from NJLThe new associate mantra: Keep quiet - With layoffs piling up, associates do their best to fly under the radar.With law firms unloading scores of attorneys amid the economic downturn, associates are finding that the balance of power has shifted away from them and into the hands of law firm managers. Gone are the days — as recent as a year ago — when firms had to pile on the perks to keep Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-81051156934763310482009-05-05T10:39:00.000-07:002009-05-08T10:45:55.748-07:00Life After SouterWith the announced retirement of Supreme Court Justice Souter, what lies ahead? As far as the political ramifications for President Obama and the nomination process, a new NLJ article "After Souoter"aims to answer that questions.See also: Seven candidates who could be chosen by President Obama for the Supreme Court.Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-59628169907968821912009-05-01T23:44:00.000-07:002009-05-01T23:44:16.732-07:00New Fee Structure For Law Firms - Forbes.comNew Fee Structure For Law Firms - Forbes.com: "Only in the past 10 years have law firms begun to think about bringing professional managers into parts of the firm which are often run by committee--without an individual responsible for directing any part of the business. The challenge for law firms, he says, is to find a new way to introduce professional lines of responsibility and management Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-11561559166623148372009-05-01T23:43:00.000-07:002009-05-01T23:43:52.478-07:00New Fee Structure For Law Firms - Forbes.comNew Fee Structure For Law Firms - Forbes.com: "unlike a corporation with professional managers, a law firm's shareholders--its partners--are also expected to run the business day to day. 'Therefore, they have great difficulty letting go and allowing other people to take on responsibility for finance or strategy or human relations.' In many firms, he notes, the highest fee-producing lawyer is Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-27752770794203041752009-05-01T23:42:00.000-07:002009-05-01T23:42:49.556-07:00New Fee Structure For Law Firms - Forbes.comNew Fee Structure For Law Firms - Forbes.com: "Law firms also tend to celebrate individual rainmaking partners, but no one individual can supply the kind of comprehensive service today's clients demand, Ryan adds. While 'rainmaking is virtuous,' he says, 'strategic account management is a team game. The question is how do you let the rainmaker continue to grow the business and discover the needs Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-59595416660845426652009-05-01T23:40:00.000-07:002009-05-01T23:40:43.094-07:00New Fee Structure For Law Firms - Forbes.comNew Fee Structure For Law Firms - Forbes.com: "another emerging model is the 'virtual' firm, which acts as an intermediary between clients and lawyers who have left big firms in order to work on a freelance basis. An example is Axiom Legal, a New York-based company that hires lawyers for temporary assignments. Axiom clients include Google ( GOOG - news - people ), Dow Jones, NBC and General Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-88119618798592423372009-05-01T23:39:00.000-07:002009-05-01T23:39:31.322-07:00New Fee Structure For Law Firms - Forbes.comNew Fee Structure For Law Firms - Forbes.com: "law firms in Europe are now undergoing a period of rapid deregulation following passage of Britain's Legal Services Act of 2007, which allows for alternative business structures and non-lawyer ownership of firms, Burbank notes. 'It is quite conceivable that within 10 years, you will have a largely deregulated legal profession in the U.K. and Europe. Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-40679579385546542222009-04-07T20:17:00.000-07:002009-04-07T20:17:09.728-07:00With the Downturn, It’s Time to Rethink the Legal ProfessionImage via WikipediaWith the Downturn, It’s Time to Rethink the Legal Profession By ADAM COHEN April 1, 2009
The economic downturn is hitting the legal world hard. American Lawyer is calling it “the fire this time” and warning that big firms may be hurtling toward “a paradigm-shifting, blood-in-the-suites” future. The Law Shucks blog has a “layoff tracker,” and it is grim reading. Top firms areRichard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-12483406578310885792009-04-06T06:59:00.000-07:002009-04-06T06:59:05.439-07:00Rethinking the law officeIn lean times, firms measure savings by the square foot - Karen Sloan - April 6, 2009
"One-size-fits-all attorney offices? The mere idea might prompt a gasp of horror from a law firm partner with a spacious corner office, but real estate experts say the slumping economy is prompting firms to look closely at how they use their space and how they can be more efficient and save money.
Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-23991967441237765122009-04-04T22:04:00.001-07:002009-04-04T22:04:48.735-07:00NYT EditorialWith the Downturn, It’s Time to Rethink the Legal Profession By ADAM COHEN April 1, 2009The economic downturn is hitting the legal world hard. American Lawyer is calling it “the fire this time” and warning that big firms may be hurtling toward “a paradigm-shifting, blood-in-the-suites” future. The Law Shucks blog has a “layoff tracker,” and it is grim reading. Top firms are rapidly thinning Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-50955917881580020652009-03-25T15:44:00.000-07:002009-03-26T20:12:55.277-07:00FASB proposes lease accounting changesImage by Getty Images via DaylifeThe FASB has released a Discussion Paper and Snaphot summary to solicit comments on sweeping changes to the accounting of leases.
"According to the World Leasing Yearbook 2009, in 2007 the annual volume of leases amounted to US$760 billion. However, the assets and liabilities arising from many of those contracts cannot be found in entities’ balance sheets. "
Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-11165203763331327832009-03-24T22:37:00.000-07:002009-03-26T20:14:52.103-07:00Wolf Block law firm to dissolveImage via WikipediaSouth Florida Business Journal:: "The partners of Wolf Block voted Monday to dissolve the 106-year-old law firm due to a combination of effects of the recession on the firm’s core real estate practice, the constriction of credit and the anticipated departures of significant partners and practices. The firm said it would remain in business for several months to protect the Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-43055538024428983672009-03-20T19:22:00.000-07:002009-03-22T17:57:51.192-07:00Nonequity partners more profitibleGoogle Reader : "Nonequity partners, properly applied, are more profitable than associates, notwithstanding their lower production of hours, for a number of reasons. Firstly, they are considerably more experienced and efficient, and thus a higher proportion of their hours worked are billed and collected.Secondly, their billing rates are higher, and every hour worked has a higher margin as againstRichard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-39962028116414039432009-03-16T19:59:00.000-07:002009-03-22T18:01:21.520-07:00Cap rates could reach late-1990s levelsImage via WikipediaThe Real Deal South Florida Real Estate News: "'Certain fundamentals were not really looked at over the past few years -- especially in places like Miami that don't have a lot of land. People just expected that property to increase,' said Richard Schuchts, senior vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle who has 12 years experience in the South Florida market. 'Now we're getting Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-52611208747149819972009-03-16T07:31:00.000-07:002009-03-26T20:19:01.314-07:00Four-day work week becoming more commonImage via WikipediaAccording to a survey of 245 companies by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, companies have been reducing workweeks significantly in 2009. According to the findings, 13 percent reduced workweeks in February (up from 2 percent in December). Another 8 percent of companies anticipate reducing the workweek in the next year. Related articles by ZemantaOff the Charts, in the Wrong Direction (Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-55708706822915344302009-03-12T12:40:00.000-07:002009-03-25T15:55:28.142-07:00Shrinking Legal Labor marketImage via WikipediaAccording to the National Law Journal, a report last week by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that the number of individuals employed in legal services shrank by 4,200 in February. The data also shows about 21,000 jobs were lost in the U.S. legal sector in the past year. Related articles by ZemantaThe View From 3L (Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-79488420209270377442009-02-17T07:43:00.000-08:002009-02-17T07:43:00.423-08:00Leaving Lockstep BehindImage by dbking via FlickrIs this the time that the associate pay model gets revamped? Dan DiPietro of the The American Lawyer pointed out in August that it is time to abandon lockstep pay for associates.
"The proposal: Abandon the lockstep compensation approach toward associate pay in favor of a system that aligns pay with the performance of the individual associate and the firm, and Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-12609669363521807012009-02-16T10:34:00.000-08:002009-02-16T20:43:08.923-08:00Black ThursdayImage via WikipediaDo you work at a law firm and still have a job this week?"Six prominent firms sent packing more than 700 attorneys and legal staffers, in what may well become known as Black Thursday in the legal industry. DLA Piper; Holland & Knight; Goodwin Procter; Bryan Cave; Epstein Becker & Green; and Dechert all confirmed layoffs on Thursday (2/12/09), adding to what has become aRichard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-49757695590911219132009-02-16T10:11:00.000-08:002009-02-16T20:33:28.683-08:00Law Firm Hiring Crisis Ahead?Image via WikipediaWant a feel good piece to start the week off? Don't read this one then The Fire This Time: Thoughts on The Coming Law Firm Hiring Crisis. In it, Arik Press in The American Lawyer wrote today about the paradigm shift in hiring and retention in the big firm market.
"If present trends continue in the big firm market, we are heading toward -- you pick the cliche -- a Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-23029169336416495622009-02-14T11:36:00.000-08:002009-02-16T20:36:25.860-08:00800 Law Firm Jobs Lost in One DayImage via WikipediaAmanda Royal in The Recorder writes, as reprinted in Law.com:
Almost 800 associates and legal staff nationwide returned home jobless Thursday after eight firms conducted mass layoffs, citing an unprecedented downturn in demand. And the bloodletting is likely to continue.
"There will be more," said consultant Peter Zeughauser. "Materially more. I'm aware of some big Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-11546641013494790282009-02-11T07:54:00.000-08:002009-02-16T20:39:58.876-08:00Vision for Big Firm - 2011Image by Getty Images via Daylife"[T]he recession will last through 2010. Law firms will use this period to substantially restructure, and beginning in 2011, things will start growing again. While there's a lot of detail and nuance around the form this restructuring will take, it can be described in simple terms. A typical law firm bill in January 2011 will generate the same dollars for partner Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-89962522090602121722009-01-28T10:58:00.001-08:002009-02-16T20:42:24.794-08:00Wide legal spectrum for Madoff claimsImage via WikipediaMessy legal battles involving investor claims is likely to break new legal ground involving jurisdiction disputes, insurance, bankruptcy and international finance." Unraveling the complex scheme will produce legal actions or many varieties and impacting many areas of law.
A primary issue will be attempts by the bankruptcy court to reclaim improper payouts to early Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-14372736692386106062009-01-28T10:40:00.001-08:002009-02-16T20:44:50.306-08:00The View From 3LImage via WikipediaFrom The National Law Journal - "Third-year students at law schools across the country are about to graduate and enter a brave new legal world of layoffs, pay freezes, and reduced bonuses. So how do these soon-to-be-lawyers feel? Says one: 'Frankly, if you're not nervous, you haven't been paying attention.'"Related articles by ZemantaThe View From 3L (Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-56756456429234428872009-01-19T19:27:00.000-08:002009-01-19T19:30:28.673-08:00FT.com / Companies / By region - BofA set for further jobs cutsImage by Getty Images via DaylifeFT.com / Companies / By region - BofA set for further jobs cuts: "BofA set for further jobs cutsBy Greg Farrell in New YorkImage via WikipediaPublished: January 19 2009 23:44 | Last updated: January 19 2009 23:44Bank of America is expected to make several thousand employees in its capital markets businesses redundant, starting this week, according to executives Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585963699472510631.post-89867410609764673862009-01-06T09:40:00.000-08:002009-01-06T09:46:39.452-08:00Madoff: How to Get Away With ItImage via WikipediaAre you wondering how how Madoff's scheme got past the SEC? Allan Sloan's of Fortune.com. says that regulators routinely miss gargantuan frauds because they're not looking for them.
"You're likely to get caught if you run a few inches outside the baseline, because regulators are set up to catch that," wrote Sloan. "But run so far that you're playing on a whole Richard Schuchtshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258815481684705495noreply@blogger.com0