Publications
Publications
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(816)
- Faculty Publications (206)
- August 2008
- Case
Sloan & Harrison: Non-Equity Partner Discontent
By: Boris Groysberg and Eliot Sherman
The law firm, Sloan & Harrison, was dealing with some discontent among its junior non-equity partners. These partners were concerned with the transparency of the advancement process, their ability to position themselves as both leaders within the firm and rainmakers,... View Details
- August 2008
- Case
Sloan & Harrison: The Associate Challenge
By: Boris Groysberg and Eliot Sherman
The law firm, Sloan & Harrison, was confronting issues pertaining to morale and turnover among its associate ranks. Annual surveys of associates revealed increasing dissatisfaction, particularly with respect to partner communication, work-life balance, and mentorship.... View Details
- August 2008 (Revised January 2014)
- Case
Polanco: A Fashionable Opportunity
By: Arthur I Segel and Ben Creo
Roberto Charvel is a young MBA graduate making his first personal real estate investment in his native Mexico City. Charvel is planning to purchase and renovate a nine-unit apartment building. Is the market good? Should he sell or lease the units? How should he handle... View Details
- Article
The Causes and Consequences of Industry Self-Policing
By: Jodi L. Short and Michael W. Toffel
Innovative regulatory programs are encouraging firms to police their own regulatory compliance and voluntarily disclose, or "confess," the violations they find. Despite the "win-win" rhetoric surrounding these government voluntary programs, it is not clear why... View Details
- December 2007
- Case
Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts
By: David A. Moss and Eugene Kintgen
In 1830, Governor Levi Lincoln, Jr. urged the Massachusetts state legislature to introduce a limited liability regime for manufacturing corporations similar to that adopted in neighboring states. At least since 1809, shareholders in the state's manufacturing... View Details
- December 2007 (Revised September 2009)
- Case
Wall Street's First Panic (A)
By: David A. Moss and Cole Bolton
In the early 1790s, a flood of newly issued public and private securities sparked an investment boom in the nascent United States. In New York, the bustling commercial district along Wall Street emerged as the center of the city's securities trade. One of the many... View Details
- December 2007 (Revised February 2009)
- Case
Don Jenkins: Resigning from the Firm
By: Boris Groysberg, Geoff Eckman Marietta and Steven Manchel
Don Jenkins, a star event planner at a large firm, resigns to take a position at a boutique firm. However, Don may have made some mistakes when departing that could be trouble later on down the road. The case can be used to teach the business and legal aspects of... View Details
- October 2007 (Revised March 2008)
- Case
First National Bank's Golden Opportunity
By: Shawn A. Cole, Peter Tufano, Daniel Schneider and Daryl Collins
Executives at First National Bank in South Africa are considering whether to launch a potentially exciting, but rather unorthodox, new savings product. Instead of paying interest, this product gives depositors the chance to win large cash prizes each month. Michael... View Details
- September 2007 (Revised October 2007)
- Supplement
Children's Hospital and Clinics (B)
By: Amy C. Edmondson, Ingrid M. Nembhard and Kate Roloff
Explores the numerous initiatives Children's Hospital and Clinics has undertaken to improve patient safety since the late 1990s--from the perspective of 2007. The case thus updates the A case by revisiting the hospital to find out what happened as a result of the... View Details
- August 2007 (Revised September 2008)
- Case
Baker & McKenzie (A): A New Framework for Talent Management
By: Boris Groysberg and Eliot Sherman
Describes the process by which the largest law firm in the world developed a unique framework for personnel management. In 2004, John Conroy is about to take the reigns as the leader of Baker and McKenzie, the largest law firm in the world by employees, with offices in... View Details
- May 2007 (Revised April 2010)
- Teaching Note
Duane Morris: Balancing Growth and Culture at a Law Firm (TN)
By: Boris Groysberg
- January 2007 (Revised April 2007)
- Background Note
Note on Lobbying
By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Libby Cantrill and Patricia Wu
Describes how companies engage the political and legal system and the rules and ethics associated with doing so. Focuses on the U.S. political and legal system, but also seeks to familiarize readers with lobbying norms and structures in the European Union and Japan. View Details
- December 2006 (Revised January 2007)
- Case
Restructuring Navigator Gas Transport Plc
By: C. Fritz Foley
How should creditors pursue their claims in a multi-jurisdiction bankruptcy? David Butters, Managing Director at Lehman Brothers, negotiates a restructuring of Navigator Gas Transport, a shipping company that is headquartered in Switzerland, incorporated in the Isle of... View Details
- November 2006 (Revised March 2007)
- Case
Goodyear and the Threat of Government Tire Grading
By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Dennis A. Yao and Elizabeth Raabe
In the spring of 1977, Goodyear CEO Charles J. Pilliod Jr. was looking at an internal report on government and legal events relevant to the tire industry. Two items caught his attention. First, he noticed that an industry suit to block the government's proposed system... View Details
- November 2006 (Revised March 2007)
- Case
eDonkey--Deciding the Future of File Sharing
Sam Yagan, CEO of the upstart MetaMachine, Inc., received a letter from the Recording Industry Association of America, Inc. (RIAA) asking him to shut down eDonkey, MetaMachine's popular file-sharing system. In September 2005, more than 30 million users relied on... View Details
- October 2006 (Revised October 2006)
- Case
DLA Piper: Becoming a Global Firm
By: Jay W. Lorsch and Alexis Chernak
Focuses on DLA Piper, a global law firm resulting from the merger of the combined U.S. firm Piper Rudnick Gray Cary and the British firm DLA. At the time of the merger, the firms had similar strategies for the future and approaches to clients. While figuring out some... View Details
- February 2006 (Revised August 2006)
- Case
Investment Banking at Thomas Weisel Partners
By: Malcolm P. Baker and Lauren Barley
Thomas Weisel Partners (TWP), a San Francisco-based bank focusing on emerging growth companies, is considering its strategy in the context of regulatory, competitive, and legal changes. Blake Jorgensen, the chief operating officer and co-director of investment banking,... View Details
- Article
Policy Implications of Weak Patent Rights
By: James J. Anton, Hillary Greene and Dennis Yao
Patents vary substantially in the degree of protection provided against unauthorized imitation. In this chapter we explore a range of work addressing the economic and policy implications of "weak" patents—patents that have a significant probability of being overturned... View Details
- November 2004 (Revised July 2005)
- Case
Messier's Reign at Vivendi Universal
By: Rakesh Khurana, Vincent Dessain and Daniela Beyersdorfer
Focuses on a crisis in the board at Vivendi. Highlights the difficulties that arise when dramatic pressure from outside the boardroom affects boardroom dynamics. In this case, there are two events. The first is an unexpectedly large financial loss and a pending cash... View Details
- August 2004 (Revised June 2008)
- Case
Debating the Expropriation of Mexican Oil
By: Geoffrey G. Jones and R. Daniel Wadhwani
In 1938, the Mexican government expropriated the assets of foreign oil companies. Explores the legal and moral arguments in favor of and against expropriation. View Details