Are the U.S. News Law Firm Rankings Big Laws Black Swan?
Posted by Dimitra Kessenides By Steven Harper Could the U.S. News law firm rankings be big law’s latest Black Swan? The title of Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s best seller comes from the discovery of what everyone knew didn’t exist. In the Old World, universally reported human experience pointed unambiguously to a single conclusion: All swans were white. Then came the discovery of Australia and its black swans. The lesson: Widely accepted truths often turn out to be false. Relying on models of the past to anticipate the future can be a fool’s errand, especially if it ignores the wholly unexpected black swans that actually shape history. The essence of the black swan is its serendipity, coupled with its power. It can be good or bad, but it’s always transformative. September 11 was a black swan, as were Microsoft and Facebook. I think The American Lawyer introduced big law firms to a black swan in 1985 when it added profits per equity partner to its law firm rankings. They encouraged internal b
