New decade. Focused direction. Decisions. 

Dear contributors, subscribers and other readers of Dialogue on Remaking Law Firms 

Over the holiday break, I have decided that it’s time to make a number of changes in the direction and balance of my work. 

These decisions will enable me to focus more intensely on my business interests. These include the accelerated digital transformation of beaton, our 15-year-old Voice of Your Clients services to larger professional services firms and FirmChecker, our ratings and reviews startup serving medium-small accounting and law firms.   

As a result, I am closing Dialogue on Remaking Law Firms. The blog will remain available to those who choose to use it as a resource, but will no longer solicit or accept new posts.

Dialogue on Remaking Law Firms has completed four years of service since December 2015. It was founded to promote my book, co-authored with Dr Imme Kaschner, Remaking Law Firms: Why and How (American Bar Association, March 2016). 

Dialogue took on a life of its own beyond our book. From 11 countries, 61 contributors enriched its pages with just short of 400 posts. Subscribers responded, reaching just over 4,000.  

It’s a good feeling to go out on a high. Thank you all.

George 

Law in the age of the customer

Mark Cohen opens Law in the age of the customer with the statement: This is the age of the customer.

The asymmetrical advantage that sellers long held over buyers is gone. Consumers have access to market information and choice that has transformed the buy-sell dynamic. Social media provides them with a reference source and a voice. The balance of power has shifted from the supply to the demand side. The customer is king in the digital age.

Remaking News of the Week: Richard Susskind’s Online Courts

Remaking News of the Week: Richard Susskind’s Online Courts features extracts from an early summary of Richard’s new jewel in the legal ecosystem. These are some of the central themes, fist carried in Legal Week. Early next year, I will publish my own review of Online Courts and the Future of Justice.

Commoditizing legal services

In introducing Commoditizing Legal Services, Heather writes “When many law firms are as fungible as peanut butter, savvy productization and exemplary service are differentiators”.

One of the most significant trends brought to the legal market by alternative law companies is the variety of delivery methods that make legal services less complicated and expensive, and therefore easier for clients to purchase. In response, law firms that wish to stay relevant and solvent in this increasingly competitive field need to market their services using a hybrid model. (In other words, these ‘hybrid models’ are a way of a traditional BigLaw business model firm’ remaking itself by adopting or integrating elements of the NewLaw business model. George)

Talking with Daniel van Binsbergen, CEO and Co-founder of Lexoo

The six years since I published NewLaw New Rules – A conversation about the future of the legal services industry have been an exhilarating ride, no more so because of the inspiring people I have met as a result. Daniel van Binsbergen, CEO and Co-founder of Lexoo is one such person. We held this conversation recently.

Do BigLaw managing partners see their worlds differently?

Do BigLaw managing partners see their world differently? invites Dialogue readers to share their experiences and views on the extent to which BigLaw leaders align with and differ from C-suite executives in corporations.

The Conference Board recently published The Future-Ready Organization reporting how CEOs and C-suite executives are thinking about the next few years and their vision for how their organisations will thrive in 2025 and beyond.

What’s your view about BigLaw?

Remaking News of the Week: Case study in analytics

Today in Remaking News of the Week, I am sharing a case study in analytics featuring the work of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) first reported in the Legal Executive Institute Forum magazine.