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Are women really worth a damn as leaders? Or is the diversification effort–from those cozy women’s initiatives to the hard-headed firm strategies to avoid sexual harassment suits–simply political correctness writ large?

There’s been a lot said from both sides of the aisle recently. And from some surprising corners.

The Hay Group recently announced that, from a  series of in-depth interviews…

Speaking of the industry being "over-lawyered," one of the reasons that that conclusion is being reached is because of the impact of incoming new technologies, which are not even yet being fully felt in the industry–technologies that both raise the hope of more targeted and cost-efficient client service while at the same time spelling the demise of many back-office, data slogging, routinized legal jobs. 

The…

In case anyone questions whether the legal industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation, you might consider some of these developments: 

  • The number of US law school applicants is down almost 25%, or over 200,000 applicants, over the last two years.
  • Which might be in part because the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that over the next ten years only

…

In our Practical Practice Tips: The Art of Ending Work Relationships, we concluded by promising another entry on the thorny problem of conducting personal relationships with clients and/or their spouses. 

This is a temptation that seems to be irresistible to many, with legion stories cataloging bad behavior and worse– everything from the divorce lawyer who got caught in the courthouse…

There’s so much going on in the legal world these days, it’s hard to keep up.  Here are some updates on topics we’ve covered recently. 

Hospitality

In connection with our entry Bringing the Hospitality Mind-Set to the Law is this recent inquiry into what makes a small hotel with no designer touches or fancy perks like restaurants…

Speaking of hospitality, during the 6th Annual HR in Hospitality Conference & Expo in San Francisco last month,Chip Conley, the founder of the hotel chain Joie de Vivre, said that most leaders have strong IQs, but far fewer have EQs—emotional intelligence—to match, and that can be detrimental to business.

Why?

  • 1) Emotions are more contagious

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The American Lawyer has just issued its Report on Laterals 2012, in which it found that in the 12 months ending September 30, 2011, 2,454 partners left or joined Am Law 200 firms, for a 22% increase over 2010, when there was the lowest number of moves since 2000. "This year’s figure was consistent with the annual average of…

Much space here is devoted to building professional and profitable relationships at work.  But there are also work relationships that should end and some that end in any event.  While not minimizing the trauma and suffering often associated with divorce and other relationship losses outside of the office, the end of work relationships pose unique difficulties with potentially damaging repercussions…

Perhaps the only players in the legal world getting a harsher strafing these days than law firms are law schools.  The biggest complaints are 1) financial: that they unfairly entice students into their folds on promises of big payday legal jobs that most will never have a shot at and that the law schools do so at tuition rates that impose…

Ronda Muir of Law People Management has concluded a contract with the ABA to write a seminal book on emotional intelligence and lawyering.  Before everyone scatters, could you please send your reactions to the juxtapositions of those two topics and any anecdotes that might be informative to info@LawPeopleManagement.com.

All responses will be acknowledged and a select…