Which comes first? The Layoffs or the Merger?

In today’s rumor mill, Winston & Strawn and Heller are in merger talks. Substantiating the rumors, according to Legal Pad, is the supposed registration of WinstonHeller.com and HellerWinston.com.

While Heller is not on record of laying off attorneys, they have seen the departure of numerous partners these past few months. In addition, they are on record for staff layoffs last year.

Begs the questions, which comes first? Layoffs (or a reduction in headcount through “performance” reviews) or a Merger?

Having been in-house at three firms during merger negotiations (only one took), and through observations of other mergers through the years, it always seems that attorney headcount goes down during the courting period. Departures can be attributed to: 1) one firm cleaning house so as to make themselves more financially attractive to a merger partner; 2) conflicts, either clients or issues; or 3) productive attorneys leaving on their own accord who don’t want to be part of the merged firm; and, 4) an internal bleed that can only be stemmed by an acquisition.

For anyone looking in from the outside, the attorney departures might have been a tip-off that something was a comin’, no matter what the cause.

So, Coolerites, what are the external signs that point the way to a shotgun marriage between firms? Headcount reductions? AmLaw rankings drop? Departure of senior administrative staff (redundant positions??)? Registration of new domain names?

2008
05/29
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Hello, my name is AAARenee and I’m a Joiner…

A colleague on LinkedIn recently asked what others have been thinking – why does she join so many groups? The answer is simple. I am a Joiner. It’s not as bad as it sounds and if there was a support group, I’d probably join. Since childhood, I have always belonged to more than one group (i.e. club, sport, activity, and/or organization) at any given time. My social tendencies stem from a genuine love of people and conversation. The good news is Joiners are natural connectors because they have access to an abundance of people and ideas. As social butterflies, we like spreading information. Therefore, we also like to include people because no one wants to feel like the last kid standing on the blacktop as teams are picked.

Joining groups on LinkedIn allows me to correspond with people whom I share a social common denominator while still maintaining the privacy of my first level connections. People in the groups I join are like pen pals. I can correspond when I have something to say but they remain just outside my daily life. Some groups are active with blogs, websites, and frequent conversation. Other groups are nothing more than a catalog of contacts.

Recently, I have been jumping into groups to monitor and observe them for my clients. Strategic uses of groups can be alumni, target audiences, brand loyalty, membership organizations, social/political causes, and industry groups. Groups can be inclusive or exclusive. If you start the actual group, you have the added benefit of owning the database of email addresses. A client retained me to start a group and the idea was sticky enough that it went viral. In six weeks, there were over 1,000 members in 26 countries. Apparently, there are a lot of other Joiners to be found on LinkedIn.

What are you opinions on groups on LinkedIn, do you join ’em, beat ‘em, or ignore ‘em?

2008
05/29
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Working Alumni Networks

Sonnenschein laid off 37 lawyers and 87 staff. “We will do everything we can to help the people we have separated, to give them as much support and compassion as we are able to provide,” said Mr. Portnoy. He added that the firm is working with headhunters and search firms, its alumni network, and its clients, to help the affected individuals find new opportunities.

Seems like a good time for law firms to organize their alumni contacts if they haven’t already. I am currently working with a firm of 250 attorneys, building a firm sponsored social network for their alumni. I know that there are several companies, such as Select Minds, that have been doing great work in this space for several years. Most alumni programs are behind the firm firewall so it’s not easy to see what is going on in this niche. Can anyone share creative approaches to alumni programs and if and how they are working? Is it marketing? Is it recruiting? Is it just nice to know information? Do you have both an online world and bricks and mortar events?

2008
05/28
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Business Books

A couple weeks ago I e-mailed some of my closest contacts, and posted to Linkedin, a request for favorite business books. As promised, here are the top 20 (received at least 2 or more votes). For a full list of all 98 books, e-mail me. I also requested a summer reading list which I’ll post later in the week.

We also had a couple “anything by” requests, or several books by the same author recommended:

2008
05/27
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Fug or Fab?

Came across an interesting WSJ blog post today on women and fashion (heels, really) in the courtroom. I especially liked one of the comments that really takes into account that fashion, and how we dress in general, can be significant and should not be ignored:

I once second-chaired a month-long civil trial (a highly charged corporate contract case) after which the jury deliberated for more than a week. We lost the case, and the jury was obviously spent after a long taxing jury room fight. After the verdict was delivered, both parties were able to poll the jury and were able to ask questions about their decision. After the whole jury generously shared their struggle with some of the factual issues, the legal standards and the attorneys’ handling of the witnesses and evidence, one juror wanting to add levity to the heavy discussion and said how much fun they had observing my fashion each day of the trial. Once he made that comment, one juror after the other jumped in calling out either a suit or shoe I wore on particular days, and they said it was a daily topic of chatter in the jury room. All but two had some remark about trial fashion (the attention was almost embarrassing), I’ve always wondered whether their attention to my fashion is what made our case even close and helped make their perception of our case a bit more positive. Bottom line, I believe fashion matters. And I think stepping outside of the black or blue skirt suit and dark low pumps uniform is not necessarily bad.

How does fashion play into your role in the legal bubble? I have always found that wearing a suit elevates me from “staff,” and I always wear a blazer if I’m going “business casual,” to maintain my professionalism.

In a “business casual” environment, how do you balance the need to maintain your professionalism with not sticking out like a sore thumb (or a dweeb, tight-ass, nerd, etc). We are often counseled to “mirror” your bosses, but what if you boss is the managing partner and her idea of “business casual” are a pair of khaki’s and a hawaiian shirt?

2008
05/22
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Forward Motion for Pillsbury CMO?

I heard through the grapevine that Liz Pava, Pillsbury CMO, has resigned from her position. Her last day is rumored to be May 30th. This resignation follows on the heels of the launch of the new Pillsbury corporate identity package (see earlier post of May 16). Rumor also reports that it was definitely her choice and the reason for her departure was “the ball just stopped moving forward.” Why do CMOs and Marketing Directors really quit? It can’t always be for “a better opportunity” (translate: more money, more power, more you name it) or can it?

I started thinking about my own departures. I was in 3 law firms as the top marketing professional over the past 13 years. Each time I left it was for “a better opportunity.” In hindsight it always seemed like a better opportunity because something in the relationship with the firm had begun to break down which caused me to look for that “better opportunity” in the first place. Oddly, I don’t think that what was broken could not have been fixed in any of the cases and may have actually been the better opportunity had I been able to confront my illusions. There was just something psychologically compelling about moving on. Here’s my water cooler analysis.

The beginning of the end was when the firms decided to launch a “major” change in their business model, management committee, or client service model, etc. etc. You name it. They wanted change. Their ability to change in a meaningful way was in question. With all this talk of change came a change in their perception of their self. In order to justify this change, they would find or create holes in existing relationships. Like suddenly the successes of the past and the time everyone had invested in building the business together was no longer enough. Tear up the foundation. Start over. It was almost as if they were ordering up a new car or sexier wife.

I love change – sort of. Especially when it’s built on respect and substance. But, whenever there was a change change was in the air and leadership’s perception of themselves grew, their trust and respect for marketing became the late model car or the old lady. Following this there was an unwillingness to “move the ball forward.” That triggers my flee instinct.

Changing law firms or geography or both can be great for career; especially for someone like me who gets bored quickly and thrives on all things new. Yet I can’t help thinking that if illusions were confronted, stronger and more effective results would have emerged. This throw away world we live in impacts attitudes of others and ourselves, and our career moves. Law firm marketing isn’t like product marketing. A constant influx of new blood to infuse creativity isn’t necessary as law firms are rarely truly creative. Once in 10 years maybe?

Do you have any thoughts on why CMO’s come and go so readily or any stories from your own experience that might shed light on this topic?

2008
05/21
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Ya Think!?

File this one under the “no duh” column. Lawyers are introverts.

Lawyers ranked sixth overall on a list of the 200 best jobs for introverts, just behind the loner braniacs who work as computer software engineers and accountants.
(skip)
Larry Richard, a consultant for Hildebrandt International, isn’t surprised by Shutkin’s findings. Richard specializes in law firms and lawyer personalities. Using the Caliper Profile personality test, he has found that lawyers rank astonishingly low in the sociability trait.
“Lawyers are thinkers,” Richard says. “[Consider] what a lawyer does–thinking, analyzing documents, editing and writing.” According to Richard’s research, low sociability scorers are less inclined to enjoy interaction with others” and “may prefer to spend more time with information.”

Question for the watercooler: how do you overcome/compensate for the introverted nature of lawyers in your day-to-day interactions?

2008
05/20
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Give us your tired, your poor, your weary…

One of the ongoing challenges I have in law firm business development is effectively side-stepping the equity partners and non-equity partners who have few, if any, business development skills and/or simply lack interest in it (“It’s unseemly for a lawyer to have to ASK a client for business.”). However, managing partners rarely let you forget about these lost souls. In both firms where I have hung my hat, I felt management washed their hands of these attorneys by assigning their biz dev efforts to me. In both situations, I have been able to work around these folks by enrolling them in a few business development classes, completing a barebones marketing and biz dev plan, etc. But the time and attention they eat up means I have less time to support the real rainmakers. Plus their performance tends to weigh on my annual review. I have discussed the situation with managing partners at both of the firms and while they nod their heads in understanding, I still feel like I get dinged during the performance review. I don’t like to spend too much money on training this group because I don’t anticipate much ROI coming out of it.

Any readers have similar situations? What did you do to make the situation work?

2008
05/15
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Advice for the Hiring Committee

Well, another CMO has resigned his firm and the hunt is on for his replacement.

Makes me think about all the firms I have interviewed with and those red-flag moments … and a prior firm where I lived through several “interim” CMOs as they interviewed, and interviewed, and interviewed for a permanent CMO, only to have their top candidate accept another job and the process would begin again.

What advice would you give to the hiring committee at Ropes & Gray as they go about the process of finding Jim Durham’s replacement, or any hiring committee for that matter?

I’ve got a few to start us off:

  • The CMO has to work with people on many different levels and in many different departments. Start talking to your senior marketing/administrative professionals early on. What were the positives/negatives of the prior CMO? What was lacking in his or her skill set, both tactical and managerial? What did they have that you cannot live without?
  • Have the senior directors interview the candidates before the firm management has decided on who they want in the job … then actually listen to their input.
  • What are the top priorities for the person coming into the job? These will most likely be different than the last time you were hiring. Don’t recreate the “same” CMO to do a different job.
2008
05/14
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