For true law firm harmony, look to the Chinese

More highlights from Georgetown University’s conference on the future of law firms …

The oft-quoted Patricia Gillette argued that layoffs should be implemented only as a last resort because of the damage they do to the culture and level of trust within the firm.

Along those lines, University of Wisconsin sociology professor Sida Liu suggested that U.S. firms should emulate the Chinese, which have a “traditionally Asian approach to managing their lawyers. … They want to build harmonious law firms like they want to build a harmonious society, so they don’t lay off their young lawyers.”

- posted by vera