It’s a well-worn cliché that lawyers are lousy businesspeople. As a result, many of the larger firms have already turned to financial specialists to help. More than 70% of Am Law 200 firms and over 85% of Am Law 100 firms employ a chief financial officer. The larger the firm’s revenue, the more likely it is to hire a CFO. But what about small firms or solo practices?
Advocates are concerned about the privacy of data collected by genetic testing companies; what control consumers have over their DNA data once it’s been submitted to 23andMe and other genetic testing firms; and what recourse consumers have if companies’ assurances of privacy prove unreliable.
Thanks to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the first-ever all-virtual ABA Techshow was held in March. Instead of crowded expo halls, packed conference rooms and in-person networking events, conferencegoers logged on to the Techshow virtual platform and watched live remote talks and panel discussions addressing various issues relating to law and technology.
With AI using data to improve customer experience in other industries—from banking and retail to consumer electronics and transportation—can it enhance access to justice in civil court?
Lateral transfers are nothing new. Like the big leagues, BigLaw seeks to gain powerhouse rainmakers via outsize salary offers. The deals have the added value of draining rivals’ rosters to kneecap the competition. “Understand that these are not ‘all or nothing’ changes,” said John C. Coffee, director of the Center on Corporate Governance at Columbia Law School. “But marginal ones to allow the firm to pay more to the highest-grossing partner. Other firms have decided not to change significantly.”
The coronavirus has affected every aspect of life, from employment to housing to travel to child safety. And while some law firms have closed their doors within the last few months, others are simply adjusting their focus. In fact, some lawyers have switched focus entirely, becoming full-time “COVID attorneys.”
Blame it on the pandemic. Law offices throughout the country are finally tiptoeing into the virtual world. For most professions, this is nothing new: More than half of professionals worked remotely at least half the week before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March.
Law firms throughout the United States—and the rest of the world—are dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and a sluggish economy. Although it’s clear that firms need to focus on cost-saving measures, what’s not so transparent is where the costs should be cut.
While attendees of ABA Techshow 2021 won’t get to walk through a bustling exhibit hall or dine together at one of Chicago’s many pizzerias or steakhouses, organizers of what will now be an all-virtual gathering because of the coronavirus say they still hope to foster a strong sense of community.
“I think their clearest objective is to convince people that our institutions, including our justice system, are irrevocably broken,” says Suzanne Spaulding, senior adviser for homeland security and director of the Defending Democratic Institutions project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Winning cases and helping clients is crucial to a profitable law firm. But there’s another piece of the puzzle that’s often neglected: company culture.
The need for social distancing has forced every industry to rethink how it operates and seek creative ways to conduct business. Obviously, the courts provide an essential service, but COVID-19 may have dealt a huge blow to court reporters as court systems reconsider how they conduct proceedings that previously required people to gather together in close quarters.
The ABA Journal wants to host and facilitate conversations among lawyers about their profession. We are now accepting thoughtful, non-promotional articles and commentary by unpaid contributors.
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