Remaking News of the Week: End of the BigLaw business model?

Remaking News of the Week: End of the BigLaw business model? features a reflection by Richard Tromans in Artificial Lawyer, his always-topical, on-the-money publication.

In his July 2 piece, “Is the end of the traditional large law firm model here?” Richard reports this was his main thought after speaking to the leaders of Freshfields Lab in Berlin’s ‘cool Factory innovation space.

Is the end nigh? is a big question opines Richard; huge I would say. Like all rhetorical questions, the answer depends on many considerations, for example, what is meant by a traditional large law firm? In my 2016 Remaking Law Firms: Why & How book, I set out a business model analysis of traditional firms, styling it the BigLaw model. I contrasted BigLaw with the NewLaw model and its many manifestations. Since the publication of Remaking Law Firms, we have witnessed slow and patchy – but encouraging – ‘remaking’ initiatives by some BigLaw firms. The Freshfields Lab is a good example of how the Magic Circle firm is going about remaking itself. 

Richard concludes “The traditional model is only really over when the leading firms, in growing numbers, invest significantly in offering more than law”. Read his piece to know more… 

George