The Market Problem
As I tweeted a couple of days ago, I recently received three telephone calls over a three-day period from entrepreneurs looking for a new law firm because of the excessive fees of their current law firm. Two of the three entrepreneurs advised me that they were reluctant to even call their lawyers with a question because of the fees. I thought to myself: I get it! 15 minutes = $125-175 for most partners (and those phone calls add up).
I’ve been doing deals as a corporate attorney for over 15 years now, including nearly 8 years in the trenches at two big law firms in New York City. Accordingly, I thought it would be helpful for entrepreneurs if I briefly peel back the curtain of the big law firm and explain how these firms work (i.e., the good, the bad, the ugly) so that entrepreneurs can make an informed decision as to whether it makes sense to be working with a big law firm with respect to a particular corporate project. Obviously, some of this is a bit self-serving, but entrepreneurs need to understand that the assumption “the bigger, the better” — i.e., the bigger the law firm, the better the representation — is not necessarily the case. The video version of this post is set forth directly below.
