There’s one wearing sheep skins in the back row

Yesterday, Karl Chapman reminded me of a black humour incident when we first met. The occasion was an October 2012 law firm leaders conference in London at which I was speaking. I referred to the emergence of alternative legal service providers – ‘NewLaw’ was yet to be applied to these new business models. I likened the threat they posed to ‘the barbarians at the gate’ and the plundering of Rome, i.e. traditional BigLaw firms.

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Who coined NewLaw?

I am often asked, ‘Who coined NewLaw?‘. For the record, here are the facts set out in a non-revisionist account of the circumstances from 2009 to 2016.

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Law firm business models and workplace culture

Law firm business models and workplace culture contributed by Michael Milnes is an especially welcome contribution to Dialogue on Remaking Law Firms; the piece is based on a Masters thesis and examines the nexus between business models and workplace culture.  

Michael sets out what he learned about making BigLaw firms a great place to work. 

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Who’s In Dialogue: 07

Who’s In Dialogue: 07 is in its 7th week; thanks for playing.

For those joining recently: Once-a-week, I provide a clue about one of our contributors to Dialogue ask you join the fun by telling us in a comment to whom you think the clue refers. Proofs from public sources are published the following week. 

This week the question is who in June this year penned The end of the club, a ripper opinion piece in the business press?

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Remaking News of the Week: SmartLaw

Around 500 BC, Confucius wrote ‘He that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools’. I borrowed the aphorism to address lawyers and BigLaw firms in my contribution to HighQ’s 2018 collection of short essays “What do lawyers and law firms need to do to prepare for the future?”.

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