Why and how to switch to value pricing

Why and how to switch to value pricing was published as 15 big questions for law firms making the switch to value pricing on John’s My Perspective blog on December 6, 2018 and before that on Law Management Hub on November 21, 2018.

Design thinking is essential for effective solutions

Design thinking is essential for effective solutions is Patrick (Pat) Lamb’s first post on Dialogue. In the last 20+ years we have witnessed Pat’s NewLaw journey, most recently integrating his law firm into Elevate.

Coyle began his response by reversing the question to “how is design thinking related to innovation?” I thought that was insightful, but my appreciation for his answer ended there. Coyle defined design thinking as “a process and a mindset used to solve complex problems in unique and innovative ways.” In other words, uniqueness and innovation are inherent attributes of design thinking. I see design thinking a bit differently.

Law Firm IPOs: Pricing on a Wing and a Prayer

Back in June 2017 I wrote about the views of Jon Molot, Chief Investment Officer at Burford Capital on BigLaw partnerships, their (lack of) capital structure and the deleterious effects of short-termism.

At Validatum, we usually begin our Partners Pricing Masterclasses with one of the most evocative of Warren Buffet’s quotes, “The single most important decision in evaluating a business is pricing power. If you’ve got the power to raise prices without losing business to a competitor, you’ve got a very good business. And if you have to have a prayer session before raising the price by 10 percent, then you’ve got a terrible business.”

Remaking News of the Week: Exigent’s 2019 watch list is worth down-loading!

Remaking News of the Week: Exigent’s 2019 watch list is worth down-loading. The provocative thought-piece begins: “There’s no more time for timid guesstimates.”

A not so rosy take on US BigLaw 2018 performance

A not so rosy take on US BigLaw 2018 performance is Mark Cohen’s myth-busting analysis of the 2019 Citi Hildebrandt Client Advisory annual survey of US law firm fiscal performance.

Mark opens by observing ‘The most recent Citi Report drew considerable industry attention following its release in December, suggesting the opening sentence of the Executive Summary is the likely reason: “The US law firm industry is enjoying its strongest growth in almost a decade”.

Legal roles of the future

‘Legal roles of the future’ is my reflection over the holiday period on what an exhilarating time it is to be in the legal sector. As the industry evolves rapidly into an ecosystem of service providers, legal professionals of the future will have opportunities in many new kinds of legal roles that did not exist just a few short years ago.

Here’s my list, which I’m certain is incomplete. What did I miss?

NewLaw is in the news

NewLaw is in the news again thanks to an excellent op-ed on the Australian scene by Lachlan McKnight, CEO of Legal Vision in Lawyers Weekly on December 28, 2018: Observations on NewLaw in Australia in 2018. 

These are my thoughts in response to Lachlan.