BigLaw will remain and flourish

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Posted by on Jul 28, 2016 in BigLaw firms, Business models | 3 comments

The Jenga Don’t Lie: BigLaw Relies on the Whole of its Parts

The Jenga Don’t Lie: BigLaw Relies on the Whole of its Parts was first published in the Ontario Bar Association’s JUST. ‘Debatable’ column on June 16, 2016. Managing Editor, Catherine Brennan, introduces the piece as a perspective on an issue “that has boiled the blood of many a lawyer in recent years and has challenged our fundamental perception of our vocation: Is ‘Big Law’ dying or here to stay?’” Read why Mitch Kowalski says ‘Yes’.

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Posted by on Jul 25, 2016 in BigLaw firms, Business models | 0 comments

NewLaw firm crosses the Tasman

Only a NewLaw firm would make a statement like this on its website: “We provide top legal talent on call; strategy and continuous improvement consulting; and technology solutions”. This statement is not necessarily noteworthy per se, but the speed with which lexvoco is spreading is truly remarkable.

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Posted by on Jul 19, 2016 in NewLaw business models | 0 comments

There’s Gold in Them Servers

In There’s Gold in Them Servers, Ken Grady tells the modern BigLaw version of an early Californian gold rush story.

On January 24, 1848, John Wilson Marshall was building a water-powered sawmill for John Sutter. The mill was close to Coloma, California, near the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Marshall was a carpenter who had emigrated from New Jersey. Although Marshall wasn’t looking for gold, he later claimed that he knew immediately upon seeing the flakes what he had found. 

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Posted by on Jul 15, 2016 in Analytics, BigLaw firms | 0 comments

Remaking the law firm ecosystem

As much as talk in legal and broader commerce overall these days centres on David v. Goliath or even the clash of the titans (think BigLaw), there’s a very faulty set of assumptions around this type of thinking. Taking the view that it’s us versus them unduly limits the possibilities not just for better delivery of current services but also the creation of new forms of value in the best interests of the ultimate client. An ecosystem approach with some level of coordination among many contributors provides the best and most interesting outcomes. It’s also a key driver of innovation.

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Posted by on Jul 6, 2016 in Business models, Legal services ecosystem | 4 comments

The firm of the future is in fact the firm of now

The evidence has been collected. 

The submissions have been heard. 

Judgment has been handed down – the incumbent law firm business model is broken.

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Posted by on Jul 5, 2016 in Business models | 4 comments

The perfect pricing storm: Artificial intelligence and hourly billing

 In his June 19, 2016 post The perfect pricing storm: Artificial intelligence and hourly billing, Richard Burcher writes “Law firms today face increased pressure to do ‘more for less’ resulting in rapidly growing interest in compelling technology-augmented hybrid offerings: focused on process-oriented work, applied at scale, leveraging technology to produce effective solutions that address the GCs evolving role as manager of legal spend and supply chain risk. For many law firms, this means fewer billable hours.

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Posted by on Jul 4, 2016 in Artificial intelligence, Pricing | 0 comments