March 1, 2002
When Littler Mendelson chief Wendy Tice-Wallner turns to the employment law firm's executive committee, she's not always seeking a lawyer's opinion.
To be sure, San Francisco-based Littler Mendelson is steeped in legal know-how, and its five-member executive committee includes Tice-Wallner and three partners. But one of the top decision-makers, Chief Operating Officer Hank Lewis, is not a lawyer.
It's a scenario that's evolving in many firms, and one that may deserve more exploration as some larger firms struggle in the current economic downturn. Lawyers serving three- to five-year stints as chairmen or managing partners, some say, aren't up to the challenge of overseeing larger and increasingly businesslike operations.
Showing posts with label Law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Law. Show all posts
Friday, October 09, 2009
Law of gravity pulls down Brobeck
May 10, 2002
As profits slip, partners bail and associates are shown the door, the new shape of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP -- the Bay Area's third-largest law firm -- is taking form with or without its former chairman.
Yet Tower Snow, who pushed the San Francisco-based firm onto the coattails of the dot-com boom and jumped off when profits tumbled last year, remains publicly coy about his future.
"If one believed all the rumors, I resigned over a month ago and I'm working at eight different firms simultaneously," said Snow, now a partner in Brobeck's securities litigation practice. "It's kind of like Mark Twain's death: The rumors have been greatly exaggerated."
Yet this much is certain: Brobeck sheared more than 200 associates and 74 staff through three rounds of layoffs in the past six months, cut as much as $50 million in annual costs and pared its once-hefty technology focus.
And Snow is ready to leave the firm.
As profits slip, partners bail and associates are shown the door, the new shape of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP -- the Bay Area's third-largest law firm -- is taking form with or without its former chairman.
Yet Tower Snow, who pushed the San Francisco-based firm onto the coattails of the dot-com boom and jumped off when profits tumbled last year, remains publicly coy about his future.
"If one believed all the rumors, I resigned over a month ago and I'm working at eight different firms simultaneously," said Snow, now a partner in Brobeck's securities litigation practice. "It's kind of like Mark Twain's death: The rumors have been greatly exaggerated."
Yet this much is certain: Brobeck sheared more than 200 associates and 74 staff through three rounds of layoffs in the past six months, cut as much as $50 million in annual costs and pared its once-hefty technology focus.
And Snow is ready to leave the firm.
Last call for 'Ladies Night'
July 19, 2002
"Ladies Night" never felt so wrong for a growing list of Bay Area bars and nightclubs.
At least eight establishments in San Francisco and Oakland are fending off lawsuits, filed over the past four months, that claim that "Ladies Night" discounts constitute an unlawful business practice under California law. Men are denied equal privileges, claims Los Angeles attorney Morse Mehrban, under the banner of an organization called Consumer Cause.
"Ladies Night" never felt so wrong for a growing list of Bay Area bars and nightclubs.
At least eight establishments in San Francisco and Oakland are fending off lawsuits, filed over the past four months, that claim that "Ladies Night" discounts constitute an unlawful business practice under California law. Men are denied equal privileges, claims Los Angeles attorney Morse Mehrban, under the banner of an organization called Consumer Cause.
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