“Publish or perish” is academia’s mandate. “Collaborate or perish” might be law’s equivalent. Why? Technological advances, global markets-and labor pools, and post-financial crisis fiscal constraints have accelerated disaggregation in legal services. Not long ago, law firms handled all aspects of a matter. Now, there is a supply chain. Integrating suppliers... read more →
Jul
18
Jul
11
India is about to open its legal market to foreign-based firms. This is not a sudden development; India was a signatory to the 1995 General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) treaty of the World Trade Organization that paved the way. And though there will be limitations governing foreign firms’... read more →
Jun
30
Back in the late ‘70’s, there was a popular commercial where a young professional commented above the din of a dinner party conversation that his broker was E.F. Hutton. The room fell silent and the punch line was: “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.” Above the din of legal pundits... read more →
Jun
20
Its NBA Finals time and LeBron James is once again on the court. It’s been almost six years since he rendered “The Decision,” proclaiming to millions tuned into ESPN that: “I'm going to take my talents to South Beach.” His infamous declaration is textbookhubris or chutzpah–maybe both? I was reminded... read more →
Jun
13
It’s hardly news that the once-cozy relationship between BigLaw and corporate legal departments has morphed into something quite different. In Facebook terms, it’s gone from “in a relationship” to “it’s complicated.” Relationships once cemented over rounds of golf and scotch have yielded to RFP’s and reverse auctions. The bloom is... read more →
Jun
08
The emergence of litigation finance is another telltale sign of a maturing, rapidly changing legal marketplace. Buyers and sellers of legal services have so much more to consider these days than legal expertise. They must assess, among other things: technology, process management, areas of expertise/specialization, insourcing/outsourcing/right-sourcing, legal supply chain, cyber-security,... read more →
Jun
08
Hulkamania ran wild the night Hulk Hogan defeated Andre the Giant in the main event of “WrestleMania III” before a live audience of over 92,000 and millions more watching on pay-per-view. The Hulkster was recently paired again with a giant and won big. Only this time the giant–a Silicon Valley... read more →
May
31
The ABA recently renewed–and shelved-- the alternative business structures (ABS) debate, and the battle lines were familiar. The retail segment of the legal market is where the most strident exchange occurred. Reform advocates maintain that the access to justice crisis cannot be meaningfully addressed without ABS. The opposition cautions that... read more →
May
23
Last week I wrote an article analyzing the principal reasons why corporate legal departments are taking on so much more work themselves instead of outsourcing it to law firms. This is, of course, an ominous sign for law firms and the traditional partnership structure. So too is disaggregation and the emergence... read more →
May
19
I skimmed the “Top Headlines” of a recent edition of The American Lawyer and was struck by the lineup: (more…)