“New law” is a catchall industry term popularized in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. It is often linked to “legal tech,” “legal ops,” “ALSP’s,” and “legal innovation.”Each is usually considered discretely, not as part of a larger change process. That begs the question: Has new law produced change... read more →
Jun
08
Apr
19
Is The Legal Function Fiddling While The Rule Of Law Is Burning? The Case For An Integrated Response
A categorical imperative would be one which represented an action as objectively necessary in itself, without reference to any other purpose. —Immanuel Kant At a time of profound change, upheaval, and uncertainty, individuals and society seek stability, accessibility, and wisdom from their institutions. How is the legal industry responding? Spoiler... read more →
Mar
16
Digital transformation and its pandemic-produced acceleration have elevated talent to a top-level business priority. For employers, it has caused them to rethink what talent means in a dramatically shifting marketplace. What are its characteristics? How does it align with corporate purpose and culture? Where does it come from? How can... read more →
Feb
23
When people have points of reference that are humanizing, that demystifies difference. —Laverne Cox The pandemic has intensified the daily battle of subsistence for hundreds of millions of our fellow humans. For the more fortunate, it has provided an opportunity to reflect, reboot, and rebalance their lives. What is our... read more →
Jan
25
Big Law has demonstrated remarkable resilience. It has weathered financial crises, economic downturns, the Big Four, automation, social change, corporate digital transformation, and the Pandemic,. Big Law channels Mark Twain— the reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated. Large corporate law firms enjoyed a rich economic harvest in 2021.... read more →
Dec
19
Business is undergoing a paradigmatic shift in its relationship with existing and prospective customers, the workforce, society, and even the planet. This is the business story of our time— a top-to-bottom corporate reverse- engineering process undertaken from the customer perspective. Business is challenging and refining its purpose, culture, structure, economic... read more →
Nov
30
Ferris Bueller said, “Life moves pretty fast….” That was in the ‘80’s. What would he say now? Life is moving very fast, propelled by the speed and breadth of change. Legal industry change is generally viewed through the narrow lens of the profession. Lawyers have long controlled all facets of... read more →
Oct
26
“Talent” is a common term lacking a conventional meaning. The importance of a working definition goes far beyond semantics; it is critical to individual and enterprise success. Talent, like other elements of digital transformation, is a fluid, nuanced word with many facets. Talent wars have heated up across multiple industries... read more →
Oct
11
“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.”—Sherlock Holmes Digital business runs on data. It is a multidimensional asset whose value transcends internal functions, supply chain, enterprise, customers, competition, society— even the planet. Perhaps that’s why a 2017 Economist article dubbed data the world’s most valuable resource. Data is... read more →
Sep
14
This is the second in a two-part series. The first segment examined how and why legal change derives from business digital transformation. Business has often regarded the legal function as a corporate bottleneck and cost center. That’s because legal culture, education, indoctrination and language are different than other corporate business... read more →