Dan Packel

Dan Packel is an editor on the Business of Law desk at ALM. He writes a weekly briefing for Law.com, "The Law Firm Disrupted," on change and innovation in the legal marketplace. He is based in Philadelphia. Contact him at [email protected]. On Twitter at @packeld

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December 03, 2020 | The American Lawyer

Jeff Hammes and Adam Gerchen's Legal Tech SPAC Has Two Dozen Targets in Sight

The blank check company, sponsored by former Kirkland & Ellis chairman Jeffrey Hammes and Keller Lenkner CEO Adam Gerchen, has $175 million to direct toward an acquisition.

By Dan Packel

3 minute read

December 02, 2020 | The American Lawyer

Most Big Firms Are Increasing Revenue, but Performance Gap Steadily Grows

Survey data from Wells Fargo shows that firms have grown revenues by nearly 6% in the first nine months of 2020, although the bulk of that growth is concentrated among the members of the Am Law 50.

By Dan Packel

4 minute read

December 02, 2020 | The American Lawyer

Clients See 'Innovation Gap' in Big Law, Report Finds

A new survey from Thompson Hine found that 69% of respondents said their primary outside firms had made no progress in innovation over the past year.

By Dan Packel

4 minute read

December 01, 2020 | New York Law Journal

Former SDNY US Attorney Berman Picks Fried Frank for Return to Private Practice

Geoffrey Berman will chair the firm's white-collar defense practice and sit on its governance committee.

By Dan Packel

4 minute read

December 01, 2020 | The American Lawyer

After Sliding at Pandemic's Start, Law Firm Subsidiaries Are Soaring

Captives focused on e-discovery, alternative staffing and automated legal expertise all witnessed clients back off amid the widespread economic uncertainty of late March and April, but interest then rebounded.

By Dan Packel

6 minute read

November 24, 2020 | The American Lawyer

The Law Firm Office Isn't Dead, And Neither Is Open Space

Real estate experts believe the trend toward mobile work will make the office of the future smaller and more reliant on hybrid spaces.

By Dan Packel

6 minute read

November 24, 2020 | The American Lawyer

Steady as He Goes: Kenneth Doran Has Made a Career Guiding Gibson Dunn Through Crisis

Through nearly two decades—and two global crises—as chairman, Kenneth Doran, our 2020 Distinguished Law Firm Leader, has paved Gibson Dunn's path.

By Dan Packel

6 minute read

November 20, 2020 | The American Lawyer

As COVID Cases Rise, Law Firms Push Lawyers and Staff to Stay Home

Haynes and Boone and Dentons are among firms asking personnel to avoid the office unless absolutely necessary, as the coronavirus surges across the U.S.

By Dan Packel

6 minute read