The party is over! Navigating the multi-polar legal market

In The party is over! Jordan Furlong explains why the BigLaw 60+ year run has come to an end. In his lattest post on Dialogue, Jordan draws on the latest Georgetown Law School and Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute report and starts “They are ready to call it: the party’s officially over. The 2017 edition of their annual Report on the State of the Legal Market is unequivocal in its assessment of how completely the commercial legal services market has changed over the past decade.”

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Posted by on Feb 28, 2017 in BigLaw firms, Clients, NewLaw business models | 1 comment

Pricing efficiency

Pricing efficiency is Hans Schuurman’s first post on Dialogue. His perspective from his base in The Netherlands is a welcome addition to the discourse on BigLaw and fees. Hans reasons a low hourly rate is not always the cheapest solution for BigLaw to offer clients. He argues the core theme in fee discussions between BigLaw firms and clients remains the variable or the hourly rate and then asks whether this helps the client and the firm reach their desired goal? Hans explains ‘on a napkin’ that a low hourly rate is not always the cheapest solution for BigLaw firms to offer and that there are better ways to achieve pricing efficiency.

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Posted by on Feb 21, 2017 in BigLaw firms, Clients, Pricing | 0 comments

Top 10 Reasons Law Firms Resist Innovation

Top 10 Reasons Law Firms Resist Innovation was first published by Ron Friedmann in his blog PRISM, more than 10 years ago. Re-reading it prompted me to ask ‘What’s changed?‘ A good deal is one answer that true of some BigLaw firms? I know not what proportion of all firms these represent, but it’s likely to be less than 10%. What do other readers observe? And what conclusions should we draw? I look forward dialogue. And, as always, thank Ron for his generosity in sharing and his perspicacity.    

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Posted by on Feb 15, 2017 in BigLaw firms | 0 comments

Reflecting on Reinvent Law NYC, 2014

Today I am reflecting on the Reinvent Law conference held in New York on February 7, 2014. Seldom, if ever, in my life has one day made such a positive difference to my professional career. It may seem self-indulgent to write about this event three years on, but I think it’s worth sharing. If only because it involves so many people in the Remaking Law Firms community to whom I am grateful and indebted.

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Posted by on Feb 7, 2017 in Book review, Legal services ecosystem, NewLaw business models, Technology | 0 comments

Rudderless ships

‘Rudderless ships‘ is a new post by Mike O’Horo, a foremost proponent of how lawyers in BigLaw firms can improve the effectiveness of their business development activities. The volume of debate and activity around law firms’ evolution into sales organizations continues to ramp up. There are lots of opinions – and accompanying solutions offered – around every aspect of this emerging business function.

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Posted by on Feb 2, 2017 in BigLaw firms, Clients | 0 comments