No, We're Not Imagining This: Paul Weiss Isn't Paul Weiss Any More

 This is the post on Fishbowl Big Law:

"Paul, Weiss is clearly on a different level at this point. Should be v5"

It is followed by responses such as:

"100% agree. P,W taking over!!!"

"They’re so hot right now"

"They’ve poached several associates from my group. Crazy."

Not so long ago the law firm was a target of bad press. A bad spot to be in. My hunch is that back then they chose to lay low, not only in branding but also in operations. A kind of  bunkering.

Then, the cloud seemed to lift. The media moved on to issues such as the slowdown in M&A which triggered layoffs and hiring freezes. On those influential professional social networks Kirkland & Ellis became the joke. In May the partners voted Brad Karp back in. The rest is history.

Karp is in his early 60s. That's young currently. So he can keep up this torrid pace of outpacing that big kahuna Kirkland & Ellis in innovation, landing major brandname accounts, poaching talent, power and influence. The rumor is that Paul Weiss is even taking a page from the Kirkland & Ellis playbook and creating a Non-Equity Partner tier.

Paul Weiss is not Paul Weiss any more. So it's puzzling that the website still has a long long section section on its history and the values of that time. No one cares. Not the clients. Not stars being recruited. Certainly not the media. And, probably not even senior partners. 

In coaching more and more clients are coming to me for exactly this kind of shift. Paul Weiss, like Dentons, can launch a consulting arm. That would be on organizational transformation.

Data or the gut for your careers and communications? Both of course. Complimentary consultation with intuitive coach, content-creator, and Tarot reader Jane Genova (text 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com).


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Akin Gump Julia Ghahramani's March 2021 Cocaine+ Death - So?

   It had been way back more than a year ago that first-year associate at law firm Akin Gump Julia Ghahramani died from cocaine laced with fentanyl. Yet that story keeps resurfacing.  This week  RollonFriday  revisits it. And  Reddit Big Law  considers the issue if the energy from cocaine is what's making possible those 2,500 hours billed in law firms.  Is what's keeping this on the radar the hunch that use of the illegal substance cocaine is common among those practicing law? After all, in addition to being an energy-booster, it provides a nice reward for such hard-working lawyers. Also, they have the earnings to afford it. Most of the rest of gunners have to stick with boozing. So, why not?  The reality might be setting in that the death could simply have been an aberration. Think about it this way: Ghahramani had bad luck in her alleged choice of dealers. Others might be able to exert more scrutiny in overseeing the content of the illegal drugs they sold. The message c
Read more

Up-or-Out: McKinsey Raises the Pressure, In Contrast Some Law Firms Ease It through Nonequity Partner Tier

" McKinsey & Co.  warned some US consultants last week they are running out of time to win promotion, raising the 'up or out' pressure on staff as the global consulting industry struggles." - Abovethefold Article in Bloomberg , March 27, 2024 This is yet another sign that once-iconic McKinsey is a professional services firm in trouble. One challenge is overcapacity of manpower. It has also warned about 3,000 consultants about "concerns" regarding their performance.  In addition to the overall slowdown in management consulting, McKinsey faces scrutiny from myriad sources about its client list including assignments with China and Saudi Arabia. There also has been that hatchet-job book "When McKinsey Comes to Town." The most damning aspect of the expose is that former employees dump on it. Posts on the professional anonymous network Fishbowl Consulting aren't optimistic about a turnaround at McKinsey or at other players in that sector. In cont
Read more

Down Memory Lane - There Was Actually a Time in When $70k for New JDs Was Big Money

  Let's cut to the chase. The year was 1987.  On a Monday in October the stock market crashed.  Corporate downsizing, made an art at GE by Jack Welch, was purging the system of middle-aged middle managers. Staples caught the wave of accidental entrepreneurs forced out of corporate careers. It created the new category of office supplies for small business. We the purged agonized at Staples about what color business stationary.  It was the worst of economic times, at least since The Great Depression.  Meanwhile, large law firms were getting a lot of attention because they were paying inexperienced law-school graduates starting salaries of up to $70k.  Cravath got the ball rolling on that. The phenomenon was enough to attract a major article by The Washington Post.   The kicker was this: The money wasn't enough for young lawyers to stay with those jobs which they found long in the hours and short on stimulating assignments. Often they were locked into proofreading documents at the
Read more