Thomson Reuters Divests Hildebrandt Baker Robbins

More details later today, but Thomson Reuters is expected to announce later today that it is spinning off Hildebrandt Baker Robbins -- which will become Hildebrandt Baker Robbins LLC. The new entity is expected to focus on its sourcing practice, infrastructure work, and corporate legal -- keeping about 60 people. Engage will join Elite, and the Hildebrandt Institute and Peer Monitor with remain in the TR fold, within the Business of Law Group. Brad Hildebrandt is expected to also stay with TR.

About 20-30 HBR staff will lose their jobs.

More later.

Update 2:32 p.m.: Here is the official statement from Thomson Reuters:

"Thomson Reuters has announced plans to spin off its Hildebrandt Baker Robbins consulting firm as an independent business. The new firm will be called HBR Consulting, and will be headed by a team of current practice group leaders including Chris Petrini-Poli, one of the firm’s senior executives. HBR Consulting will focus on law firm operations and technology consulting. Its staff includes many former Hildebrandt Baker Robbins consultants who helped position the firm as an industry leader and are renowned for their experience and legal market expertise.  
 
Thomson Reuters also announced that it has formed a legal market research and business analytics unit comprised of certain assets of the former Hildebrandt Baker Robbins. It will include: Peer Monitor, which analyzes and reports on a number of key law firm financial and operational performance factors, and Hildebrandt Institute, which provides law firm leaders with business-critical information, roundtables, and education programming to help them navigate market challenges and compete more effectively. Engage, a software-based tool that helps law firms budget, estimate and manage alternative fee-based legal work, will be aligned with Elite. Brad Hildebrandt, Hildebrandt Baker Robbins founder and a prominent authority on law firm strategy and operations, will continue with Thomson Reuters, supporting senior Thomson Reuters executives and law firm managing partners in an advisory role."

Update 6/20: Here is the link to the full story on Law Technology News website.

Image: HBR Consulting

LTN is Finalist for 3 ASBPEs, 1 Tabbie

We just got word that "Ball in Your Court," by Craig Ball, is a finalist in the 2011 American Society of Business Publications Editors. (We won't know until the ceremonies later this summer whether he took gold, silver, or bronze in the Northeast region, "Regular Column, Contributed" category.) Here are links to the two columns we submitted in the category: "Ubiquitous Databases," (December 2010) and "Is it Malpractice," (November 2010).

This will mark Craig's seventh ASBPE, and he also has won three similar awards from the Trade Association Business Publications International competition. Congrats!

Our October "E-Discovery Showcase" also is a finalist for best "Special Section" (Northeast region). The showcase was lead off by Anne Kershaw & Joseph Howie's "Crash or Soar," addressing whether the legal community would accept "predictive coding" (a hot topic that will be explored in our August 2011 issue as well). It also included Ball's über-delicious take on the aburd machinations that Judge Paul Grimm had to address in Victory Stanley II ("Blow Out"); as well as Kenneth Jones' "Choose Wisely," on selecting EDD vendors, and Ball's BIYC column, "Executing E-mail."

We are also thrilled that Shane DeLeers' July 2010 cover is a national finalist in the "Tabloid Cover" category. (He also won a design award from GD USA for our December, 2010 cover!)

Update: We also have received news that LTN's "Perfect Is the Enemy of Green Initiatives," has been nominated in the Online Feature category of the Tabbies (Trade Association Business Publications International) competition. Like the ASBPEs, the actual level of the award will be announced later this summer. An even longer version, with photos, can be found on The Common Scold. 

Image: LTN