Legal Rebels 2011: Big Change in BigLaw
BigLaw and innovation? This year’s crop of Legal Rebels demonstrates that those are not necessarily contradictory terms.
Certainly the major-firm environment has its soothing perks in salary, specialization and star power. And as the legal profession struggles under the pressures of technology, rising competition, client demands and a still-strained economy, it would be hard to blame those lawyers in the front row if they simply kept their seats and rode out the storm.
But there are those for whom no easy path exists. They see the future and find fresher, faster and better ways to deal with it; and in doing so they are remaking their corner of the profession through the power of innovation. That makes them Legal Rebels.
Whether manager, partner, vendor, associate or paralegal administrator, they are exploring new areas of growth on underserved continents, more intensive ways to challenge job applicants, coupon-style offers to lure in new business, tech-savvy ways to share knowledge and speed communication. They are even taking legal services outside the ubiquitous law-practice model, challenging the very definition of what the legal profession is.
On the following pages we will introduce you to this year’s crop of 10 rebels, all current or former staffers of National Law Journal 250 firms. We’ll be posting more expansive profiles of each, along with video interviews, on LegalRebels.com throughout September. These 10 join the 60 Legal Rebels featured in the first two years of the project. See page 41 for more online-only Rebels features we’ll be posting this month.
Even amid floors of offices across international locations, each of us is still responsible for our own professional success. But creating on the field of the megafirm can bring more than individual triumph; it can change the game itself. Join us in celebrating those who dare to take on the rules. They are living the revolution.
Click here to read the rest of “Legal Rebels 2011: Big Change in BigLaw” from the September issue of the ABA Journal.
