When you follow the demographic trends, there was a lot of business formation back in the middle-1940s continuing through the 1970s. Now transactions are being driven by ownership transitions or estate planning.

Several companies that pioneered the free services trend have realized this is not the optimal business model, and are modifying their strategies accordingly.

Our take is really cautious optimism, the business is really building momentum. We're still encouraged by the U.S. revenue outlook.

I do not think the duty to cooperate necessarily includes the duty to include the state in the loop in the settlement process. These settlement negotiations sometimes extend over months and years. To have the state at the plaintiff 's side would be a logistical problem.

In the 1980s, we responded to what we were seeing in the market from an investment opportunity point of view. We really were developing this practice on our own. It was complementary to PNC's focus on the smaller end of the middle market, but in terms of our context, we were building sources for deals and deal referrals on our own.

Our target for the year is to invest in four to six new companies.