Law firms prepare to float on the stock market
City law firms are preparing to raise millions of pounds from external investors as the British legal market braces for its own version of Big Bang. At least 20 firms are planning to raise outside funding under rules that will allow non-lawyers to own a stake in legal practices for the first time, accountants advising the firms told The Times. Read More

Deferred Associates and Public Interest Work: A Difficult Integration
The spate of associate deferrals that rippled throughout Biglaw last year was truly unique. There was no historical template for what would happen when firms decided to essentially skip a recruiting class by sending their would-be first years out on paid vacations to public interest organizations. Read More

Corporations commit $30 million to minority law firms
The National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms announced that 11 large U.S. corporations have agreed to spend $30 million with minority- and women-owned firms in 2010. Read More

Lawyers rethink 'billable hours' in down economy
The commencement speaker at Case Western Reserve University Law School told students that a mainstay of the legal profession — the billable hour — was a recipe for attorney and client unhappiness.Read More

Lawyers in waiting: Firms defer new hires’ start dates
Brett Church has been mentoring young adults since Goodwin Procter hired him. After being snagged by Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, Chad Lindner trained and competed in a dog-sledding race. And Ropes & Gray first-year associate Tim Hoitink is helping evicted tenants stay in their homes.
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Firms fork out £6bn in jobs cull
Bloodletting at British firms cost employers £6bn in redundancy payments last year as bosses dug deep to avoid legal battles. The payouts show the scale of efforts firms are using to bring down the wage bill as they face the downturn. Read More

Law firm CEOs are standing up to be counted in the most difficult market yet
Last year was challenging for law firms to say the least. For the vast majority growth rates fell or stagnated. And redundancies were common, from the magic circle to the high street firms. Clients were more demanding, applying extensive scrutiny in seeking real value for money. Read More

Controlling Legal Costs - Law Firms IT Procurement Practices That Produce Outsourcing Savings
With the country coming out of the recession, there should be an uptick in the procurement of information technology and software, particularly in the last three quarters of 2010. We are seeing the beginnings of this today as companies look for ways to outsource activities that can be best provided outside the company. Therefore, corporate legal departments should be prepared for a new wave of procurement in the area of IT. Read More

DLA Piper Joins Law Firms Beckoned by Brazil's Growth (Update2)
DLA Piper said it will form an alliance with a law firm in Brazil, becoming the latest overseas firm to be drawn to the home of Latin America’s largest economy. The 3,500-attorney law firm announced yesterday it will team with Campos Mello Advogados in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Read More

Latha Jishnu: Insidious India project
For several years now, one of America's top law schools has been spearheading a campaign here to bring about "awareness on intellectual property (IP) and create judicial interactions". Read More

Diversity Scorecard 2010 One Step Back
Large U.S. law firms became less diverse last year. That's the key finding to emerge from the latest version of our annual Diversity Scorecard, which counts attorneys of color in the U.S. offices of some 200 big firms. Read More

In Praise of the Part-Time Lawyer
Logic would seem to dictate that large firms should change course and re-evaluate the traditional strategies that got them here. Read More

Attorney-General's office'virtually' powerless due to outsourcing
A damning review of the Attorney-General's Department warned in January last year that its legal capacity had been "substantially diminished" by the decision to commercialise and outsource government legal work. Read More