-
Goodbye Billable Hours
Tweet Share on Facebook January 30, 2009 Comment (2)Earlier this month I reported that pay cuts could be a good way for law firms to avoid layoffs. Today the New York Times has another--law firms are using alternatives to the decades-old practice of billing clients by the hour, a practice that irks many clients (and clients have more leverage in a recession).
The paper reports that for one firm, "instead of paying for hours worked, more clients are paying Cravath flat fees for handling transactions and success fees for positive outcomes, as well as payments for meeting other benchmarks."
There are arguments against billing by the hour that go beyond trying to appease clients during a recession. Here's one:
-
Could the Recession Save Customer Service?
Tweet Share on Facebook January 30, 2009 Comment (9)I haven't opened my wallet for much more than breakfast and subway fare in months (a year?). I'm obviously not the only one. (Kevin Lane, a financial advisor in Prescott, Ariz., calls our nationwide flight to thriftiness "The New Frugality," and he sees it up and down the income strata. "Even wealthy people are re-evaulting their cell phone plans," Lane says.)
Last night, on my way home from work, I had a sudden desire to spend. Not much, just enough to ensure that I'm not taking "the new frugality" to an unhealthy extreme. Just to remind myself what it felt like to slap the credit card down on the counter and walk out with a shopping bag holding something a little unnecessary.
I stepped into one of those chain-store-but-still-too-expensive potion/lotion/soap stores to peruse the wares. The air was heady with the scents of lavender and peppermint and there was a general swirl of stress-melting blissfulness. I was absorbed in a line of spa products that seemed to promise better days and better moods ahead, when from behind me a rich, basso voice boomed: "Four minutes. You have exactly four minutes before we close."
-
Why Lily Ledbetter is Controversial
Tweet Share on Facebook January 29, 2009 Comment (13)Even though Lily Ledbetter couldn't make her case to the Supreme Court, many of us probably believe that people should be able to sue for wage discrimination at a point beyond the 180-day period after their first discriminating paycheck, particularly if, like Ledbetter, we've worked at a place for years (decades!) and don't uncover the pay disparity until retirement.
But the merits of the law are actually fairly controversial. After all, President Bush didn't support it.
A recent WSJ editorial makes the objection clear--arguing that the Ledbetter act will "create a new legal business in digging up ancient workplace grievances." Here's more:
-
How Slacker-Searchers Can Survive a Layoff
Tweet Share on Facebook January 28, 2009 Comment (86)Almost all advice on surviving a layoff involves hard work. The paid daily grind gives way to the unpaid daily grind, as you "treat your job search like a job" and work your connections, perfect your resume, clean up your cover letter, and network, network, network.
But is that really the advice that everyone needs to hear? Don't most people who have just lost their jobs realize that to get another one, they're going to have to work at it? The fact that we're in a recession and the job market is lousy has moved well beyond page 4E in the business section--most people know about it.
So, there's definitely some merit in advice of a different kind, such as this guide to surviving a "post-layoff existence" at Fast Company. While some of the tips require actual work--like auctioning off your junk on eBay or going back to school--they do seem well attuned to the plight of the slacker-searcher.
-
Starbucks Calls Off Decaf--After 12 PM?
Tweet Share on Facebook January 28, 2009 Comment (24)Call me crazy, but I would have thought Starbucks customers switched to decaf in the afternoon or evening, rather than imbibing the beverage before work in the early morn. But I'd be wrong.
Starbucks announced today that they will no longer have a pot of decaf at the ready after 12 p.m. each day. Instead, customers who request the brew will have to wait the four minutes it takes to brew a fresh one.
From a Starbucks statement E-mailed to Bloomberg:
“For many of our stores, the demand for decaf is greatly reduced in the afternoon,” the company said in the statement. “With our current standard of continually brewing decaf after 12 p.m. regardless of demand, we have seen a high amount of waste.”
-
Target Layoffs Add to Toll
Tweet Share on Facebook January 27, 2009 Comment (31)On the heels of massive job cuts at several major corporations yesterday, Target said today it would be laying off employees at its corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, reports the Star-Tribune.
A Target spokeswoman would not offer details on the number of positions that would be eliminated. The company offered a statement. Here's an excerpt: "We believe the decisions we are making, though difficult, represent appropriate actions to manage our business and maintain our competitive advantage going forward."
Target says it will have more details later today after employees are informed. In the meantime, there are plenty of rumors on the web, including on this Twitter feed (apparently written by a TV anchor and radio host in Minneapolis).
-
Rush Limbaugh Defends John Thain
Tweet Share on Facebook January 25, 2009 Comment (129)Former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain's reported $1.2 million office makeover--said to have been done in early 2008, after Thain was hired to help save the ailing brokerage, and months before an agreement to sell Merrill to Bank of America--has really bugged taxpayers, since billions in TARP funds have been handed out to BofA to help the bank absorb Merrill and its bigger-than-expected losses.
But conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh had his own take on Thain's redecorating. He responded to comments reportedly made by President Obama--telling Republicans on the hill that they "can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done"--in a statement to National Review's Byron York, where Limbaugh focused on his issues with the massive stimulus package.
Some of his comments:
-
How to Tell if Your Company Got Some TARP
Tweet Share on Facebook January 23, 2009 Comment (6)A lack of transparency in the use of government's TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program) rescue money has rankled taxpayers. Good news then that Neil Barofsky at the Treasury Department is "preparing to ask every bank and company that's received a dollar from the $700 billion financial rescue to detail how the funds were used," the Washington Post reports. The banks and companies will get 30 days to comply and Barofsky can subpeona those who haven't been sufficiently open.
While awaiting the official TARP details, rankled taxpayers may find welcome comic relief in Anita Bruzzese's blog today-- "8 Signs Your Government May Have Received Bailout Money."
-
Potbelly, Allstate Innovate for Recessionary Consumers
Tweet Share on Facebook January 22, 2009 Comment (4)Potbelly Sandwich Works is offering $4 "skinny" sandwiches--less bread, less cheese, less meat and a slightly lower price for those minding their waistlines or watching their wallets (not a small cut of the population).
Allstate is experimenting with a new lower-cost car insurance policy that would require policyholders to pay the typical $500 or so deductible for damage to their car, as well as another $750 deductible in "physical damage liability costs" in accidents they've caused, Crain's Chicago Business is reporting.
This recession is forcing companies to find ways to continue doing business with a much more frugal consumer. It's likely to conjure some creativity from among the employee ranks.
-
Hillary Clinton's First Day on the Job
Tweet Share on Facebook January 22, 2009 Comment (5)Secretary of State Hillary Clinton showed up for her first day of work today at the State Department.
By all appearances, it was your typical first day with the normal introductions.
