Beard gets hairy job steering firm through turmoil.Beard gets hairy job steering firm through turmoil When attorney Ronald S. Beard takes over the helm on April 1 of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher - Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County's largest law firm - he will have to navigate the firm through a stormy legal climate. "The whole legal profession is going through a major shakeout which should continue for the next two to three years, though no one has a crystal ball," said the 51-year-old Beard, who is succeeding Norman B. Barker as chairman of the firm's executive and management committees. The legal community is in a period of contraction, Beard explained, after a growth spurt growth spurt Pediatrics A period of rapid growth in middle adolescence; ♀ ↑ ±8 cm/yr ±age 12; ♂ ↑ ±10 cm/yr ± age 14; GS is orderly, affecting acral parts–ie, hands and feet grow before proximal regions, during the 1980s. Gibson Dunn itself expanded to 700 attorneys and 18 offices worldwide during that time. It does not plan to lay off attorneys this year, but Beard said the firm is not hiring as many new attorneys each year as it was in the latter half of the 1980s. The hiring slowdown will lead to natural attrition as partners retire or attorneys switch to other firms, he explained. To cope with changing legal demands, Gibson Dunn is expanding its debt restructuring Debt Restructuring A method used by companies with outstanding debt obligations to alter the terms of the debt agreements in order to achieve some advantage. Notes: and environmental practices, which are faring better in the recession, Beard said. Since he does not assume his new post until April 1, Beard said he has not developed specific plans for the firm's future. But he did describe himself as "an effective communicator and a manager who will be approachable." Beard's predecessor, Barker, 62, is stepping down after completing a five-year term. Beard, who joined the firm in 1964 upon graduating from Yale Law School Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1843, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D., and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars and several legal research centers. , is a senior partner in the firm's corporate department, heads its international group and has been a member of the firm's management committee since 1983. Beard said that when he joined the firm in 1964, "it was unheard-of for partners in major firms to switch and was rare for associates to switch as well." Now, it is more commonplace for even senior partners to move laterally to other Los Angeles law firms This list of the world's largest law firms by revenue is taken from The Lawyer and The American Lawyer and is ordered by 2006 revenue:[1]
Gibson Dunn celebrated its 100th anniversary last year and represents clients in all aspects of corporate, business, litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. , labor, tax and probate probate (prō`bāt), in law, the certification by a court that a will is valid. Probate, which is governed by various statutes in the several states of the United States, is required before the will can take effect. law. PHOTO : Beard: New hand on helm |
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