Welcome to the Future – An Unfolding Conversation, an Emerging Model
Written by Paul Lippe
Thursday, 11 June 2009 00:00 - Last Updated Thursday, 11 June 2009 15:51
I was on a panel with a managing partner from a large firm the other day and he said something
very compelling:
"My job as managing partner is to reduce from 60 to 36 months the amount of time it takes
our partners to go from 'why would we every do that' to 'we've always done that.'"
We're beginning a period of significant change in law. The outlines of the "New
Model" are pretty clear:
• A more sophisticated view of client complexity, leading to a client-centric rather than
lawyer-centric model of practice, driven by shared goals to create a more well-ordered society
and the competitive survival of the client.
• Greater engagement between firms and clients, leading to better collaboration between firm
lawyers and in-house lawyers, and greater collaboration across the firm.
• A more transparent notion of quality and value in assessing legal services and lawyers.
• Pricing that shifts the emphasis from time and materials (billable hours) to value as defined
by the client.
• Dramatically less associate leverage in law firms.
• Overall law firm revenues will be down 10 to 20 percent from their peak, but the differences
between winners and losers will be much more dramatic, and firms will dramatically reduce all
expenses not essential to delivering value to clients.
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Welcome to the Future – An Unfolding Conversation, an Emerging Model
Written by Paul Lippe
Thursday, 11 June 2009 00:00 - Last Updated Thursday, 11 June 2009 15:51
• Technology that simplifies routine work and improves communication to enable the above
(instead of 'social networking,' it will be a broad set of Web 2.0 capabilities in which 'people are
the Killer App,' see, e.g., New York Times describing the centrality of Facebook to the emerging
Web).
• A "New Compact" between law schools and students, and ultimately employers,
ensuring that schools provide education enabling the above and making a lifetime commitment
to the human capital of their alums.
I don't think there's much controversy over this direction, and indeed some folks would say
we're already there. And for sure there is no one arguing for the status quo. The interesting
thing is how does a profession like law discuss and ultimately deliver change. Let me suggest
the model for how change unfolds:
* First there is a conversation. That conversation is taking place online, in the press, in
professional societies, in law schools, in conferences, and in firms. There is no one unifying
conversation (the ABA should in theory be running it, but for whatever reason, they're not), but
taken together the conversations are all very much linked. A more linked and online world
means the conversation will be faster and more decentralized. The more the conversation is
driven by fact and developments outside law, the more robust it will be. The conversation must
begin with some candor about today’s problems (tell me again how come the banks who spent
the most on lawyers lost the most money--if they had such great lawyers?), but move on to
optimism about the future. Turning again to The New York Times, an article from March 28
considered how the economic crisis will likely change the structure of corporations, making
some bigger but most smaller, as key corporate activities like creativity can be done in small
organizations as well or better than in big ones, and technology can give small organizations the
advantages of scale.
* Second, there will be leaders who will vocally advocate and try the new models; thereby
developing the success stories and lessons that others can emulate. Other than the small
percentage of leaders, most folks will be followers, and that's OK. Since they will follow, it
doesn't matter a ton what the followers say or think, because they will simply wait for the
leaders to sort things out and then follow. We all already know there's lots of inertia in law, and
lots of followers; taking your cue from the followers' skepticism only tells you what you already
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Welcome to the Future – An Unfolding Conversation, an Emerging Model
Written by Paul Lippe
Thursday, 11 June 2009 00:00 - Last Updated Thursday, 11 June 2009 15:51
know.
* Third, there will be a label. I actually think this is the most important part, so I am happy to
offer a $1,000 prize to whoever coins the name that sticks. For now I'll call it "New
Law," borrowing from New Deal or New Labour. "New Model," "Renewed
Law," "Back to the Future," "Re-Engagement," whatever it is, it will
be something that connotes moving past the billable hour, associate leverage, and firm size as
defining goals, while conveying the professional values and benefits of the shift.
* Finally, we'll all just say "we always did it this way."
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