Imagine if the immense, diverse, dispersed, and energetic pool of legal industry talent coalesced and created solutions for some of the most pressing legal, regulatory, and civil society challenges caused by the pandemic. This is not some Panglossian illusion. It is happening now at the FT Innovative Lawyers-Global Legal Hackathon. This... read more →
Jun
01
May
20
Legal practice—as lawyers have broadly construed it— has long been the touchstone of the profession. That’s why non-practicing attorneys often described themselves as “former” or “recovering” lawyers. The profession controlled the supply of legal talent and used self-regulation to blunt “non-lawyer” competition. The profession carved up practice territories with purposeful... read more →
Apr
21
John F. Kennedy once remarked “The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger—but recognize the opportunity.” What is the legal industry’s danger and opportunity? COVID-19 Is A Unique Crisis Whose... read more →
Apr
14
At the dawn of a new decade businesses face unprecedented challenges in an ever-changing, global market. To help the industry adapt to a new landscape, we are bringing together two of the most respected names in the industry for a series of four live... read more →
Apr
13
It’s the questions on the mind of every legal professional: What will legal life look like after the COVID-19 pandemic passes? What will this “new normal” actually be? And more specifically, if courts close and clients are shuttered, what will half the world’s lawyers do? In the first of a... read more →
Mar
19
Higher education is confronting an existential crisis, and law schools are its poster child. Even before Covid-19, the law school business model, pedagogy, culture, faculty composition, marketplace detachment, poor student outcomes, and ever-escalating cost/massive student debt have drawn withering criticism. The pandemic has elevated law schools’ challenges and accelerated their... read more →
Mar
10
Linguistic precision is a must-have in the legal toolbox. Words matter—especially to lawyers. Lengthy “definitions” sections are standard fare in lawyer-crafted contracts. Who but lawyers parse definite and indefinite articles or contest the meaning of the word “is?” Semantic gymnastics are exercised regularly by the legal profession. With all the... read more →
Feb
18
The Association of Corporate Counsel recently released the 2020 edition of its Chief Legal Officers Survey (CLO Survey). It is chock full of data that confirms the changing role of the Chief Legal officer, corporate legal departments, and, by extension, the entire legal supply chain. The Survey results are a... read more →
Feb
04
Atrium, the Silicon Valley tech company and law firm, is laying off the bulk of its law firm staff. Justin Kan, the tech company’s CEO and co-Founder, wrote that Atrium “will continue expanding outside of legal services as trusted startup advisors by building a professional services network dedicated to founders.”... read more →
Jan
10
The legal industry is principally focused on technology, new models, competition, reregulation, the sustainability of the traditional partnership model--issues that impact stakeholder livelihoods and career trajectories. Defending the rule of law is a less concrete, but seminal challenge the industry must focus on in 2020 and beyond. It is law’s... read more →