Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Despite a substantial increase in the number of female and minority lawyers entering the U.S. legal profession, their representation within the partnership ranks of corporate law firms continues to lag. This study posits that some of the disparity may be attributable to peculiar market dynamics surrounding gender and racial diversity. Drawing upon a comprehensive dataset of law firms listed in the National Association of Legal Placement (NALP) directory, this paper will examine group differences along the lines of firm size, geography, firm structure, profitability, and prestige. Although our preliminary hypothesis is that there are significant group differences driven by self-selection, these preferences may reflect a complex adaptive strategy to persistent institutional barriers within elite corporate law firms.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In the last decade, the largest law firms have been becoming increasingly international as they have sought to meet the needs of multinational corporate clients. However, theoretically informed studies of this process have been relatively limited. In particular, the question of whether law firms are developing towards a unified model of the global firm or whether there are different trajectories of internationalisation is still unresolved. In this paper, empirical findings on the internationalisation of European law firms will be presented and compared with the development of large US American law firms. Previous research indicates that the patterns of internationalisation of law firms from these jurisdictions tend to differ in terms of their history, significance, geography and profitability. The paper seeks to investigate these different national patterns of law practice in relation to a database of partners and lawyers in large international US, German and British law firms. The focus is thus on the individuals who make up the firm and the degree to which their careers reflect an ‘international trajectory’ or a national trajectory with international relationships. A key conclusion is that while US law firms follow a model of exporting their domestic law, Euro law firms tend to follow a more integrate approach of combining different national traditions.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: In this paper, the authors analyzed lateral partner moves between law firms and explored the causes and consequences of these changes. Specifically, the authors compares (1) the difference between two types of firms - major suppliers of law firm partners and major recruiters of these partners and (2) the difference between star lawyers and non-star lawyers.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper looks at the impact of new technological styles on the inner core of the global system development, the global economic system as reflected in the organizational structure of enterprises. It introduces a new framework for the analysis of enterprise structures in external and internal network-based global system environments. First, the Venetian and Genoese trade network systems, the Dutch network systems, the British family business structure, and the U.S. Fordist system are briefly contrasted with one another. This follows a more detailed analysis of the emerging new structure and the emergence of what it is here referred to as informational digital “tissues.”