The Demise of Heller

Bruce MacEwen of Adam Smith Esq. put together a post of lessons to be learned from the demise of Heller Ehrman (1890-2008).  He proposes that one of the reasons for the demise was the fragility of law firms.

"Our assets go down in the elevator every night." Take that bromide seriously.

You must give people a persuasive reason to come back "home" every Monday morning.
Make them believe in the ongoing vision of a vibrant institution, a living firm where they can make a contribution in their own way, where they have a voice, where they can matter, where they are part of a team, where there are new mountains to conquer and new clients to be won, new legal innovations to be created with your firm's imprimatur on them, new dimensions of professional development which you can create and with which you can inspire and energize your associates, new, heartfelt, admirable and groundbreaking commitments to pro bono, new, clear-eyed and profound commitments to client service and client relationships, new and innovative uses of technology to deliver cost-effective services clients increasingly will demand while at the same time sparing your associates scut-work. New, new, new.

Those are the things that will inspire people to come back on Monday.

Take a look a your role in your firm and see if you can inspire people to come back on Monday.