In the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, one theory is now famously established; it is that the answer to “Life the Universe and Everything” is 42. This, as I am…
“I’ve got a great idea” said the bright young thing. “It’s brilliant in its simplicity, clever in its concept and cannot fail to succeed”. Then the idea died; stopped dead…
I am sure you are all aware of a book written a few years ago by Stephen Covey called “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”… Over years the company…
Finding a law firm that thinks it needs advice on the better management of client relationships is like trying to find a man who will admit to being a bad…
Too often what we really want eludes us and what we get is a compromise. The job, the house, the car and, dare I say, in personal relationships as well.…
As a small boy, one phrase that was indelibly impressed on to my consciousness at this post Christmas time of year was “It is the thought that counts”. It was…
Your attention momentarily grabbed by this perhaps alarming headline, I’must first make clear (particularly to Lisa my partner) that I have not slept with any lawyers when researching this article.…
The law is a subject that evokes a number of stereotypical images. Some images are driven by television and film, others by the print journalists…some follow our own experiences and…
As the song says “There may be trouble ahead….” But what about for in-house lawyers in 2004? Well, while I predict plenty of “moonlight”, I suspect there may be very…
In decades to come, Sir David Clementi may not be a name that is easily remembered, but the report he published in December 2004 marks the beginning of what will…
Once upon a time in-house lawyers were thought to have a cushy number…nine to five, nice office, nice pension and if anything tricky came along they could always outsource it.…
Last month the Legal Director Benchmarker survey revealed clients’ growing concern over the levels of fees charged by law firms. It is time, writes Paul Gilbert, for in-house lawyers to…
Somewhere in the City It was October 2003 and I overheard a conversation in the staff canteen of a well regarded law firm in the City of London. “It’s a…
Every now and again I find myself driving along the A40 into London pondering the unpalatable thought that unless my alarm goes off at 3am I really will spend years…
In most important debates there will be several different points of view all of which will have some validity. People hold to their particular view for a variety of reasons:…
“Daddy, what job do you do?” “I’m a solicitor sweetheart” “Oh…what’s one of those?” “A solicitor is someone who helps people” “Like the lollypop lady at school, or like a…
The Chinese have a saying “You cannot stand still in a moving river”. It will evoke a familiar feeling for in-house lawyers everywhere. The dynamics of the business world today…
The Law Society, so the perception goes, is out of touch, irrelevant to the vast majority of solicitors and their firms and generally just not very good. The Big Question…
In-house lawyers should be a hugely influential constituency whose voice should carry enormous weight. But, says Paul Gilbert, their response to date to changes in the legal profession has been…
I was sat in the wine bar the other day reminiscing with an old friend. We had both qualified as raw recruits to the legal profession in the mid nineteen…
“I’m sorry, did you say it was an elephant?” “No, I said it was irrelevant” …I really do hesitate to write this piece… just how many times can someone write…
With their antiquated business practices and lack of customer service, are law firms in danger of being left behind? Paul Gilbert says that it’s definitely time for a revolution. People…
Your career as a solicitor might last thirty-five, even forty years. That is an awfully long time and must seem a daunting prospect when standing at the start line wondering…