On the list of research topics of the Law Firms Working Group are lawyer mobility and factors influencing lawyer mobility, including mandatory retirement; US law firm globalization strategies, and race and gender in large firms. They also will be looking at pro bono in large firms, professionalization of law firm management, and the career trajectories of young lawyers. Several more Working Group research projects here.
Who are these researchers? From the Law Firms Working Group Web site . . .
The Law Firms Working Group is a research network of scholars that seeks to advance our knowledge and understanding of law firms, and private practice generally, through systematic and collaborative empirical research. Although the Working Group receives financial and institutional support from the American Bar Foundation (ABF) and the Indiana University School of Law—Bloomington, Members are drawn from several disciplines—including law, economics, sociology, business, political science, and psychology—and a wide array of universities and research organizations. In addition to the research activities of its Members, the Law Firms Working Group collects and compiles links and resource guides for those interested in detailed, comprehensive, and reliable information on the legal profession.
The list of 38 members of the Working Group includes
eight law students, all from Stanford Law.
On October 12, 2007, the Group is holding a series of presentations at its Working Group Forum.
The topics will cover a wide range of empirical research that is directly relevant to the growing corporate law sector, including patterns of geographic expansion, lateral movement between firms, and recruitment and attrition among large U.S. law firms. The purpose of the event is to facilitate practitioner-researcher dialogue in which Strategic Partners get early access to cutting-edge research, and Working Group Members benefit from the feedback and perspective of practicing lawyers.
I will be interested to see how these projects unfold and if large firms will find them helpful or useful.
Note (added 8:40 PM Mountain): I see that Bruce MacEwen at Adam Smith, Esq. has blogged about the Law Firms Working Group effort. Also a post at Empirical Legal Studies by one of the Group's founders Professor William Henderson. And last year posts by Professor Paul Caron at TaxProf Blog, and Professor Alan Childress at Legal Profession Blog,
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