Snapshot of the legal market, missing link, and mystery disconnect

In Snapshot of the legal market, missing link, and mystery disconnect Ron Friedmann draws on two recent US surveys, the Altman Weil 2017 Chief Legal Officer (CLO) Survey and the 2018 Report on the State of the Legal Market by The Center for the Study of the Legal Profession at the Georgetown University Law Center and Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute and Peer Monitor®, respectively, to construct a snapshot of the state of the legal market.

Ron builds on his analysis to argue there is a disconnect between anecdotal information that alternative services providers (aka NewLaw firms or law companies) are growing and taking share from BigLaw and the published data.

I have a sneaking explanation but will wait to make the first Comment on this thought-provoking thought. 

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Posted by on Mar 2, 2018 in BigLaw firms, NewLaw business models | 2 comments

What’s a ‘Law Company’ and why are legal consumers embracing it

In What’s a ‘Law Company’ and why are legal consumers embracing it Mark Cohen tackles the rise of the NewLaw business model head-on. It’s no longer a question of whether NewLaw providers will succeed and take market share from BigLaw firms. Rather, the relevant questions are How fast? and By how much?

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Posted by on Jan 23, 2018 in Law departments, NewLaw business models | 1 comment

The Clearspire Story

The Clearspire Story describes why Clearspire holds a special place in the evolution of the legal services industry. It is remembered as a transformative legal delivery company as well as “the next big thing” that failed to achieve its potential disruptive impact. The Clearspire Story is told by founder, Mark Cohen.

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Posted by on Dec 8, 2017 in Innovation, NewLaw business models | 0 comments

A strange finding on the use of NewLaw providers by BigLaw firms

A strange finding on the use of NewLaw providers by BigLaw firms focuses a seeming omission in the 2016 Alternative Legal Service (ALS) Study by the Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute, Georgetown University’s Law Center for the Study of the Legal Profession and Oxford’s Saïd Business School.

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Posted by on Nov 2, 2017 in BigLaw firms, Law departments, NewLaw business models, Strategy | 5 comments

New players driving value for legal departments

New players driving value for legal departments was written by Mark Cohen and Liam Brown and originally appeared in Canadian Corporate Counsel Association magazine. As I read it, the key point Mark and Liam make is that the NewLaw players, while still tiny in market share, are teaching clients new tricks. And this spells big opportunity – or trouble if they’re asleep at the wheel – for BigLaw incumbents.  

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Posted by on Oct 12, 2017 in BigLaw firms, Clients, NewLaw business models | 1 comment

Conduit Law is returning to its roots

Dialogue is not a news service. But the announcement from Toronto today that Conduit Law is returning to its roots warrants inclusion in these pages because, with what I assume to be the buy-back from Deloitte, it heralds another chapter in the evolution of the NewLaw business model.

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Posted by on Sep 30, 2017 in NewLaw business models | 0 comments