2013 Report on the State of the Legal Market

As we enter 2013, the legal market continues in the fifth year of an unprecedented economic downturn that began in the third quarter of 2008. At this point, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the market for legal services in the United States and throughout the world has changed in fundamental ways and that, even as we work our way out of the economic doldrums, the practice of law going forward is likely to be starkly different than in the pre-2008 period. The challenge for lawyers and law firms is to understand the ways in which the legal market has shifted and to adjust their own strategies, expectations, and ways of working to conform to the new market realities. While there is certainly evidence that some firms and lawyers have begun to make these adjustments, many others seem to be in denial, believing (or perhaps hoping) that the world will go back to normal as soon as demand for legal services begins to grow again. Legend has it that in 1519, when he and his cohort of some 500 soldiers and 100 sailors landed on the shores of the Yucatan intent on conquering the large and powerful Aztec empire, Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortez promptly ordered his men to burn the ships. Cortez knew that, unless more tempting alternatives were removed, it would be difficult to motivate his men to take on an empire with a large army that had been in power for more than six centuries. Hence, his bold and decisive order. The legal market today is an increasingly difficult and challenging environment, one that calls for clear thinking, strategic focus, and flexibility in addressing rapidly changing realities. To an unfortunate extent, however, many lawyers and law firms seem stuck in old models–traditional ways of thinking about law firm economics and structure, legal work processes, talent management, and client relationships–that are no longer well suited to the market environment in which they compete. Perhaps it\u27s time for us, like Cortez, to burn the ships–to force ourselves to think outside our traditional models and, however uncomfortable it might be, to imagine new and creative ways to deliver legal services more efficiently and build more sustainable models of law firm practice. This report describes the trends that have been observed in the legal market in 2012, exploring the longer term implications of those trends for the future, and suggesting some ways in which lawyers and law firms can better position themselves to deal with new emerging market realities

Ethical Values in the Nursing Profession as Perceived by Head Nurses and Staff Nurses in Public Hospitals, Banda Aceh, Indonesia: a Comparison Study

Purpose: Identify the levels of importance of ethical values in the nursing profession as perceived by the head nurses and the staff nurses, and compare the levels of importance of ethical values in the nursing profession as perceived by head nurses and those as perceived by staff nurses in public hospitals, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.Methods: Data collected from79 head nurses and 280 staff nurses were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney U test.Results: The total mean score of the importance of ethical values in the nursing profession perceived by head nurses and staff nurses are at a high level. The top 3 mean scores of the importance of ethical values in the nursing profession perceived by head nurses included caring, autonomy, and confidentiality. Meanwhile, the top 3 mean scores of the importance of ethical values in the nursing profession perceived by staff nurses included caring, confidentiality, and non maleficence. The Mann-Whitney U test showed that head nurses perceived accountability as significantly statistically different from staff nurses. Conclusion: Although head nurses and staff nurses mostly perceived the importance of ethical values in the nursing profession at high levels, it is still need to promote some ethical values of head nurses and staff nurses

Law Firms, Ethics, and Equity Capital: A Conversation

The correspondence collected here represents an effort to start a conversation. Pending legislation in the United Kingdom, based on what is known as the Clementi Report, would permit non-lawyer equity investment in law firms, subject to regulatory oversight. In other words, UK law firms could become publicly-traded businesses. This legislation has been proposed as part of reforms heralded as improving the delivery of legal services to consumers. By contrast, such investment in law firms is forbidden by ethical rules in the United States. What will happen when the two countries with the most dominant global law firms begin to move along such different paths? Australia already allows such investment, but the prospect of major UK firms raising capital in the equity markets has the potential to produce seismic shifts in the global market for legal services. It also could have far-reaching implications for the legal profession that we can only dimly anticipate. Until now, there has been remarkably little discussion -- especially in the United States -- about the possible effects of the UK legislation. This paper attempts to redress that situation. It consists of an exchange among Bruce MacEwen, an expert on law firm economics and editor of the on-line publication Adam Smith, Esq.; Mitt Regan, a Professor at Georgetown University Law Center, an expert on the legal profession; and Larry Ribstein, a Professor at the University of Illinois College of Law, an expert on partnership law

Secretarial Work as a Profession

Brochure promoting Bryant\u27s 1923 secretarial program and its requirements

In search of the A word: can ambition survive in TEFL?

Why is it so difficult to find mention of the word ambition in our profession, and what exactly do those language schools really want when they hire dynamic, ambitious teachers? There are several clear reasons why ambition is seemingly intangible in our profession

Marketing career transitions: women marketers embedded in the profession?

This qualitative study explores a UK sample of 25 women marketing professionals and how their career paths are reached and moderated over time. The research addresses the women‟s reasons for moving from corporate marketing careers to self-employment in marketing and discovers that their career anchor is their embeddedness in the marketing profession which remains a constant throughout their career. This suggests that marketing talent is being lost to the corporate environment but not necessarily to the profession. It also suggests that the profession needs to acknowledge these career transitions when offering support to those practicing marketing

REMARKS DELIVERED ON THE OCCASION OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE FORDHAM STEIN AWARD TO JUDGE EDWARD WEINFELD

In the aftermath of a very difficult period for the conscience and reputation of the legal profession, the Fordham Stein Award was endowed for the purpose of providing the profession and society with a sterling example of professional integrity and leadership. The mandate was to search the profession nationwide each year and to select a person whose selfless contribution to the public good exemplified the quiet performance of thousands of others whose dedicated work adds life, vigor and substance to our democracy. In 1985, Fordham Law School awarded the Stein Award to Judge Edward Weinfeld. This article describes the award process and criteria and the reasoning behind choosing Judge Weinfeld