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David Wilkins
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How Some Law Firms Are Reimagining Succession Planning
November 15, 2023
Janet Goelz Hoffman, a Chicago-based senior counsel and pro bono counsel at Katten Muchin Rosenman, successfully accomplished a feat few lawyers want to think about—…
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US law firms rethink China future amid economic woes, data crackdown
November 6, 2023
A hard-fought race by U.S. and global law firms to expand into China has turned into a retreat for many, thanks to growing pressures on…
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Harvard Law’s Center on the Legal Profession co-hosts the International Legal Aid Group's 14th biennial conference.
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Global law firm Dentons is the first to enter India by combining with New Delhi-based mid-size firm Link Legal. The deal, which involves no transfer…
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As he prepares to graduate, Rehan Staton gives thanks for sacrifices by his dad, brother, and help from pals, professors — and Tyler Perry.
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Allen & Overy has been seeking to crack the US legal market for decades. Partners at the London firm on Sunday joined hastily convened calls…
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Culture Wars Catch Big Law Firms Balancing Client, Staff Demands
January 20, 2023
When the Supreme Court overturned abortion rights last year, Cozen O’Connor’s executive chairman quickly dashed off an email to everyone at the law firm. Cozen…
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The legal profession in 2023
January 13, 2023
Now that the champagne is long gone, the confetti has been swept up, and we are settling into 2023, Harvard Law Today wondered what changes the new year might have in store for the practice of law.
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In Law Firm Race For Revenue, Top Dogs Stand Alone
December 6, 2022
Inflation, hand-wringing over the economy and even a possible recession will do little to close the widening revenue gap between a handful of legal giants…
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HLS alum named the next Chief Justice of India
October 26, 2022
D.Y. Chandrachud LL.M. ’83 S.J.D. ’86, who has served on the Supreme Court of India since 2016, has been appointed to serve as the next Chief Justice of India.
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No C-suite is an island
September 21, 2022
During the daylong conference “Reimagining the Role of Business in the Public Square,” panelists weighed the responsibilities corporations have to the country and exchanged ideas about how to move firms further on their environmental, social, and governance — or ESG — pledges.
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What Does It Mean To Be a Corporate Citizen?
September 20, 2022
“There could really be no more important discussion than the one we are having today,” said Kissel professor of law David Wilkins last Thursday, introducing…
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Lawyers Join In Reimagining Role Of Public Companies
September 16, 2022
Speakers cited everything from the late Queen Elizabeth’s commitment to the environment to the founder of Patagonia giving away his $3 billion company, but the…
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‘These are the most important problems for our society to grapple with’
September 7, 2022
Harvard Law School Professor David Wilkins, the faculty director of the Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession, says corporations are increasingly under pressure "to change the way in which they relate to the world, relate to the environment, relate to their stakeholders, and relate to broader issues around social justice."
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Big Law Talent Poachers Wrestle to Keep Star Hires on Board
August 29, 2022
Law firms that poached attorneys from rivals at record levels in the past two years confront a challenge in preventing the high-priced talent from bolting…
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Practicing Law in the Wake of a Pandemic
July 15, 2022
‘Everyone is struggling to understand what this new world is going to look like’
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Global law firms that announced plans to close Russia offices after the Ukraine invasion now face the challenge of carrying out their goal while complying with labor, immigration and sanctions laws. Employers that want to fire employees in a closure must navigate a Russia law that generally bars dismissing certain worker classes, such as single mothers, according to labor and employment law firm Littler Mendelson. ... Firms leaving Russia are likely calculating whether they can return there someday, said David Wilkins, director of Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession, in a written statement. Those decisions “will probably depend upon what—if any—peace deal is struck and whether the firms either can or want to go back to doing Russian work,” Wilkins said.
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Survey Says New ESG Risks Add To Pressures On Law Depts.
April 8, 2022
In a new survey, the majority of corporate legal departments say they are facing rising challenges over environmental, social and governance, or ESG, issues, but they are without clear guidance from regulators and lack the expertise, resources and support from the C-suite to handle the risks. As the range of ESG risks expands, a whopping 99% of general counsel respondents said they expect a sharp increase in volumes of work, according to a study released today by EY Law and the Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession. ... Professor David Wilkins, vice dean for global initiatives on the legal profession and faculty director of the Harvard Center, said in a Law360 interview that he shares Grossman's view of the general counsel's predicament. "A lot of these issues are ending up on the general counsel's desk in the form of a crisis," Wilkins explained, such as an employee walkout at Disney World last month, or investor demands for leadership change, as happened at ExxonMobil last year when several directors were ousted.