Law Commons^™

Shadow Lawyering: Nonlawyer Practice Within Law Firms, Paul R. Tremblay

Paul R. Tremblay

Lawyers commonly associate with nonlawyers to assist in their performance of lawyering tasks. A lawyer cannot know with confidence, though, whether the delegation of some tasks to a nonlawyer colleague might result in her assisting in the unauthorized practice of law, because the state of the law and the commentary about nonlawyer practice is so confused and incoherent. Some respected authority within the profession tells the lawyer that she may only delegate preparatory matters and must prohibit the nonlawyer from discussing legal matters with clients, or negotiating on behalf of clients. Other authority suggests that the lawyer may delegate a …

Introduction To The Demography Volume, Samuel B. Bacharach, Pamela S. Tolbert

Pamela S Tolbert

[Excerpt] This volume represents another effort by Research in the Sociology of Organizations to focus on a crucial issue in organizational sociology. In some of the previous volumes, we concentrated on organizations and professions (Volume 8, 1991), the structuring of participation in organizations (Volume 7, 1989), and the social psychological processes in organizations (Volume 3, 1984). This volume concentrates on one of the most important emerging issues in organizational sociology—the issue of organizational demography.

Organizations Of Professionals: Governance Structures In Large Law Firms, Pamela S. Tolbert

Pamela S Tolbert

Despite the growing number of studies of professionals in organizations, surprisingly little attention has been given to the way in which professions shape organizations. This research addresses this issue by examining the determinants of formal structures in large law firms for decision making in two areas: compensation and promotion. We argue that the structures for compensation decisions are strongly influenced by contemporary business strategies adopted by law firms, as indicated by a number of organizational characteristics. Because promotion decisions are closely tied to the institution of professional authority, however, structures for these decisions are largely unaffected by such strategies. The …

Institutional Sources Of Organizational Culture In Major Law Firms, Pamela S. Tolbert

Pamela S Tolbert

[Excerpt] A large body of research has been generated within the last few years on the forms and functions of organizational culture and on the consequences of culture for organizational control and effectiveness. Surprisingly little attention has been given, however, to the sources of organizational culture and, in particular, to the features of organizations that affect its maintenance and transmission. This chapter uses an institutionalization perspective to explore these issues.

Gender And Partner Compensation At America's Largest Firms, Marina Angel

Marina Angel

Abstract

This study compiled the largest research sample on the gender gap in compensation at the 200 largest law firms by combining two large databases to examine the compensation disparities between men and women partners. The analysis elucidates the question of whether the difference is because women are less productive than men partners or because they are women. The Am Law 100 and 200 studies include gross revenue, profits, number of equity and non-equity partners, and the total number of lawyers at each firm. The Vault/MCCA Law Firm Diversity Programs study (Vault/MCCA) includes the gender ratios at each Am Law …

Perspectives On Law Firm Sustainability, Howard S. Dakoff, John C. Dernbach

John C. Dernbach

No abstract provided.

American Biglaw Lawyers And The Schools That Produce Them: A Profile And Rankings, Paul Oyer, Scott Schaefer

Paul Oyer

We profile the lawyers that work at the largest 300 American law firms as of the Summer of 2008. We show how gender, years of experience, prestige of law school, and other qualities vary across lawyers of different rank and firms of different prestige. Geography is an important determinant of where lawyers work, with many going to undergraduate school and law school near where they ultimately practice. Geography is less important, however, at more prestigious firms and for graduates of higher ranked firms. We then go on to rank law firms based on the prestige of the law schools they …

The Crisis Exposed By Pari Passu, Preston M. Torbert

Hofstra Law Review

This article is one practitioner's reaction to Gulati and Scott's The Three and A Half Minute Transaction: Boilerplate and the Limits of Contract Design. It notes that current contract drafting practices, especially for sovereign debt instruments, create a crisis: that is, a danger and an opportunity. The danger is the offshoring of contract drafting. The opportunity is to substantially improve contract drafting by establishing in a law school a laboratory program for creative innovation in contract drafting. The article suggests issues that such a program could adddress: the implications of the canons of interpretation for drafting, the problem of …

Big Law And Risk Management: Case Studies Of Litigation, Deals, And Diversity, Anthony V. Alfieri

Articles

No abstract provided.

Three Generations Of U.S. Lawyers: Generalists, Specialists, Project Managers, William D. Henderson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

A simple framework for understanding the U.S. legal profession is a gradual progression through three generations of lawyers: the generalist, the specialist, and the project manager. The transition from one generation to the next is driven by the familiar story of supply and demand. The generalist era (colonial period to the end of World War II) gave way to the specialist era (post-War to early 2000s) because of a shortage of sophisticated business lawyers capable of serving the needs of large, growing, and increasingly regulated industrial and financial clients. Over a period of several decades, leading local practitioners with business …

Nearshore Alternative: Latin America's Potential In The Offshore Legal Process Outsourcing Marketplace, Kara D. Romagnino

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.