Via <a xhref="http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2008/01/a-law-firm-chan.html">Legal Blog Watch</a>, a South African firm law firm has implemented a sort of new clock, or schedule: employees can start work at 7 AM and leave at 3:30 PM during the summer months.  Why?  For balance in work and family life.  Also, they got the unexpected bonus of some energy savings.  So, that begs the question: if you could work 7 AM to 3:30, would you?  Or do you stay late to impress the boss? 

Are contingency fee's getting too large?  There's been several stories about Plaintiff's lawyers making out like bandits recently.  In one case, the plaintiffs <a xhref="http://www.overlawyered.com/2008/01/damages_0_settlement_attorneys.html">settled for nothing</a>; their attorney's got $9.5 Million.  In another, the court awarded <a xhref="http://www.examiner.com/a-1137716~Freeze_the_fees_for_Milberg_Weiss.html">$450 odd million to three plaintiff's firms</a>--plus 28 million in expenses.  That's the same as 50 lawyers working 80 hours a week at $500 an hour for 4.5 years without a break.  Think that much work happened?  And Milberg is in trouble with the Feds for illegal kickbacks to the named plaintiff's in class action suits. 

Lastly, there's been a <a xhref="http://www.law.com/jsp/llf/PubArticleLLF.jsp?id=1200594605875">surge in lateral hires.  </a> Bankruptcy and finance areas are, not surprisingly, the most active, but this is a trend across all areas of practice.  Maybe it's time to start looking at that greener grass in the firm across town!