Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has said the main quality he looks for when considering an investment in a company is “an enduring competitive advantage.” There are a lot of elements that make up a competitive advantage. Very simply put, it’s your point of differentiation between your firm and your competitors.
The task of teaching a new lawyer to cultivate clients should not fall solely on the shoulders of the young lawyer. Firms need to provide financial support, mentoring and a strategy for the lawyers they hire. However, it is a two-way street. Young lawyers need to step forward and be strategic themselves.
The first steps that led to the combination of Bingham Greenebaum Doll with international giant Dentons were taken in the late spring of 2018, when Bingham leaders W. Tobin McClamroch and Keith Bice fielded a proposal from a friend. In the conference room of Bingham’s Indianapolis office, Joe Andrew, Dentons global chairman and former partner at Bingham Summers Welsh & Spilman, told the partners about the need he saw for a national law firm with offices across the country. No firm currently has an office in the top 20 markets even though, he said, clients are everywhere.
For nearly 40 years, Donald Smith of Riley Bennett Egloff LLP has played on an Indianapolis lawyers’ softball league. Smith hopes to bring together other young law students for the 2020 season to keep the softball league’s longevity alive.
In a move that will transform the Indiana legal landscape, Bingham Greenebaum Doll has announced it will be combining with Dentons, the largest international law firm in the world.
A few years ago, two Indianapolis law firms agreed to share office space. A few weeks ago, they joined forces in a merger that has them optimistic for what the future holds.
In a change effective July 1, the U.S. Supreme Court reduced the number of words litigants and friends can use in their submissions. The word limit for briefs on the merits of the case was slashed by 2,000 to 13,000. Also, amicus briefs were slimmed down to 8,000 from 9,000, although briefs from some entities such as federal agencies and state attorneys general were exempted from the reduction.
As Barnes & Thornburg recognized trailblazing professional women with its annual Shirley’s Legacy Award recently, past recipients shared their views of how women are faring in the legal profession and the challenges that persist.
The third quarter of 2019 posted a record-setting pace in the law firm mergers and acquisitions market with the combination of Indianapolis-based Taft Stettinius & Hollister and Minneapolis-based Briggs and Morgan leading the pack.
Barnes & Thornburg LLP hosted its fifth Shirley’s Legacy ceremony Thursday, surrounded by those celebrating the pioneer spirit of former Barnes partner Shirley Shideler. The 2019 Shirley’s Legacy awards were presented to honorees Kristina Box, Indiana state health commissioner, and Connie Lahn, Barnes’ Minneapolis office managing partner, for their contributions to bolstering the success of women.
The attorney disciplinary hearing against prominent employment lawyer Michael Blickman continued Wednesday, with the defense beginning its presentation with testimony from Blickman himself.
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP on Thursday announced the completion and grand opening of its Indianapolis Taft Center, a 5,000 square foot conference and event center. The state-of-the-art space installed in the Regions Tower first floor lobby now makes Taft the largest tenant in that building.
Who is responsible for law practice succession planning? I suggest that all of us in the Indiana bar have roles to play, especially those of us closer to the end of our legal careers. So far this year, I have met with several senior attorneys who want to develop and implement succession plans for their law practices.
“I’ve had a great career,” said longtime Whitley County attorney and prosecutor John Whiteleather, “and I hope I have contributed back to the community for what it provided to me.” Whiteleather’s colleagues on the bench and bar assure him that he did, recognizing him as the Indiana Bar Foundation’s 2019 Legendary Lawyer.
With its impending entrance into the Minneapolis market, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP is set to expand its footprint to 12 cities, grow its roster of attorneys to more than 600 and take a step closer to its goal of becoming a regionally dominant law firm. While law firm merger activity in the Hoosier State is increasing, the recently announced Taft deal is among the largest in recent years.
Leslie Henderzahs says Indiana State Bar Association members often realize the value of the association when they least expect it. The incoming ISBA president cited as an example a recent proposal that Indiana lawyers provide their cellphone numbers with their Roll of Attorneys registrations. Few proposals have prompted such an outcry from attorneys, and Henderzahs said the state bar acted promptly.
Some economists are again talking about a recession as certain market indicators point to a coming slowdown. Even if the economy stays strong, experts say the changes within the legal industry will still create winner and losers.
A former Illinois Congressman who redecorated his Capitol Hill office in an extravagant “Downton Abbey” style and then was indicted in 2016 for federal campaign finance violations has won a dispute over attorney fees against his former counsel, the Bopp Law Firm in Terre Haute.
An Indianapolis transportation attorney has been named chairman of the American College of Transportation Attorneys. ACTA, a nonprofit association consisting of a select nationwide group of experienced transportation defense lawyers, announced its election of Scopelitis, Gavin, Light, Hanson & Feary partner Michael B. Langford as chairman effective Aug. 16.
The number of lawyers in the United States who report having some form of a disability is minuscule. But as small as the figures may be, a shift is taking place in the legal industry that has caused the numbers to double in the past decade.