“Globalization” Conference at Indiana Univ. Law School

Indiana University School
of Law at Bloomington—where my good friend Prof.
William Henderson teaches—will be hosting a symposium
on "The Globalization of the Legal Profession" Friday,
April 6, 2006.  I’m pleased to report that I will be one
of the panelists.

On the
agenda:

• Law Firm Strategy in a global world, including "What management
  structures are necessary to govern a global law firm with
  offices on multiple
  continents?"
• Relevance of Geography, including "Are some locations,
  based on
  longitudinal growth patterns, emerging as truly international
  legal cities for firms attempting
  to fit the transnational model?"  Or, phrased differently,
  why are more firms hoisting their flag in New York, London,
  and Hong Kong, despite those cities’ having among the highest
  operating cost structures on the planet?
• Convergence, including:  "Can transnational
  law firms successfully balance the competing goals of higher
  profitability and
  professional autonomy? To what extent is the practice of
  law, and identity of lawyers, converging
  around certain practices and values? If so, are those practices/values
  those characteristic of the US
  legal profession?

The conference will be
in a somewhat hybrid format, blending the academic with the
practical and hands-on, and all papers and presentations will
subsequently be published.

If anyone is interested in attending, please email me; I can testify
that hospitality at the Law School is of the highest order.