The market will no longer tolerate the inefficiencies of the traditional law firm model. Persistently and progressively, clients are insisting that legal service be provided in ways that are more tailored to their precise needs and for fees that bear a more reasonable relationship to the value provided.
Read More“Too Many Law Students, Too Few Legal Jobs,” Steven Harper’s op-ed in the New York Times last week, drew public attention to a serious problem: 40% of 2014 law school graduates are unable to find jobs as lawyers.
Read MoreLast week, we opened a conversation about the law firm of the future. Responding to Bruce MacEwen’s two-part post on the subject, I suggested an analytical framework for a new law firm model. Today I will examine in more detail the five dimensions of change I believe are likely to characterize the new model.
Read MoreWhat should the law firm of the future look like? With all the change underway, all the unmet needs of the market, and all the opportunities the market presents, what is the optimal model?
Read MoreHiring partners away from another law firm has become a core tactic in the strategic plans of most law firms. Indeed, legal trade publications report some number of lateral moves nearly every day.
Read MoreLaw firms are increasingly adopting profitability measures, a positive development for the firms, their people, and their clients. In this post I will address five issues that are critical to making the most of profitability analysis:
Read MoreMore and more law firms are adopting meaningful profitability analysis tools to measure their financial performance. This is a noteworthy and positive development.
Read MoreThe Legal Executive Institute’s 5th Annual Law Firm CFO/CIO/COO Forum in New York last week was devoted entirely to cybersecurity—and for good reason. The risk of cyberattack is one of the most important and urgent issues law firm leaders face today.
Read MoreBill Henderson and Evan Parker wrote a brief, but important article in the December edition of The American Lawyer magazine, titled “How to Size Up Sectors and Practices for Future Growth”.
Read MoreCorporate clients are steadily changing the way they access legal service. The changes have profound significance for every competitor which seeks to serve that market. For the traditional law firm in particular, the changes make even clearer the imperative to move to a new business model.
Read MoreThe American Lawyer magazine announced its annual “A-List” this week, recognizing 20 American law firms which it calls the “new elite.” It is interesting to see which firms make the list each year and how they rank.
Read MoreCulminating two years of fact-finding and collaboration, the Commission published its Report on the Future of Legal Services in the United States (the Report) at the ABA annual meeting in San Francisco.
Read MoreProfessor Marsha Cohen is on a mission. She is determined to address two challenges she knows well from her distinguished career in law: (1) Making legal education more practical—preparing students actually to practice law; and (2) Supplying talented and motivated lawyers to represent the underserved in America’s system of justice.
Read MoreLaw firm merger activity is heating up. Altman Weil reported last week that the first half of 2015 saw a record number of merger announcements, and told The American Lawyer it looked like the pace would continue into the second half of the year: “We know from our consulting experience that a lot of firms are talking to each other… .”
Read MoreI have written previously about the disappointing pace of adoption of legal technology. Powerful new tools have been developed, and more are being created every day. They just aren’t being used as much as they could be or should be.
Read MoreMs. Rhode is an eminent professor at the Stanford Law School and a prolific writer and speaker. She has been a scholar and empirical student of the way law is practiced and regulated for nearly four decades. Her command of these subjects shows on every page of her new book.
Read MoreVirtually every speaker at the Summit recognized the urgent need to improve the delivery of legal service in the United States.
Read MoreMore than 100 leaders from across the spectrum of legal service came together to consider how to breathe new life into professionalism in the practice of law.
Read MoreMy message for corporate counsel: Take an active role in how your outside law firms are approaching innovation. The pace of change has been too slow. It is in your interest to help speed it up.
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