The New Normal

Catch up with the ABA Journal’s 2017 Legal Rebels Trailblazers

In each of the last 12 months, the ABA Journal has checked in with a group of legal professionals who have pioneered the use of technology for problem-solving, research and innovation, among other traits. Read about them and listen to our interviews with them.

Dec 28, 2017 1:05 PM CST

Successful law firms provide both proper environment and tech tools

The noble legal profession is notorious for its inability to move away from long-standing traditions. While many firms of all sizes experiment with new technologies, methodologies and business practices, the vast legal landscape can hardly be distinguished from itself two or more decades ago.

Oct 17, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

A ‘principled’ artificial intelligence could improve justice

“To what extent should societies delegate to machines decisions that affect people?” This question permeates all discussions on the sweeping ascent of artificial intelligence. Sometimes, the answer seems self-evident.

Oct 3, 2017 8:20 AM CDT

Realign laws on evidence-gathering on the internet, Google GC says

For as long as we’ve had legal systems, prosecutors and police have needed to gather evidence. And for each new advance in communications, law enforcement has adapted.

Aug 24, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

Credentials or outcomes: What’s the fairest way to assess lawyer performance?

When we meet with law firm managing partners and senior partners, we often ask them how well they understand their metrics.

Do you understand your firm’s profits per partner?
Yes.

Do you understand how many hours you and other partners have billed and what billing rates are?
Yes.

Jul 13, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

Do you suffer from ‘commoditization blindness’? If others can do your work for less, open your eyes

During the past few months, I have been giving presentations all over the world. One of the things I would touch upon are the eroding effects of commoditization. I know there are a lot of misconceptions around this topic. By now, most lawyers acknowledge that commoditization exists, but most believe commoditized work equals "simple work" or "bulk work." This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Jun 8, 2017 8:30 AM CDT

Moving from Good Law to Great Law

Five years ago, a committed group of law firm leaders and law firm service providers embarked on a journey to reimagine the legal profession with a futurist’s view.

While many innovation journeys begin with an examination of the current state of a business, team, product or service in order to determine how to make what exists better, this innovation journey was different.

Jun 1, 2017 8:12 AM CDT

Setting the CLOC forward on operational excellence

Last year, I wrote about the first meeting of CLOC, the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium, which had come together driven by a number of Silicon Valley (and other) legal operations folks, including Google, NetApp, Yahoo, Cisco, Oracle, Facebook and others. The group had their second big meeting in Las Vegas…

May 18, 2017 2:17 PM CDT

Not competent in basic tech? You could be overbilling your clients—and be on shaky ethical ground

No part of legal work is unaffected by the duty of competency. And now that’s true for the duty of technology competence, too. It requires lawyers to be competent in every tech tool that we use to serve our clients, not just fancy data security tools, but regular tools like…

May 15, 2017 8:21 AM CDT

Are lawyers artistes or shortstops: how to measure performance?

Last month, I talked about whether doing a better job of measuring lawyer performance could unlock diversity. This month, my co-author, Gregory Richter, partner and vice-president at Major Lindsey & Africa, joins me to explore how clients are starting to measure lawyer performance transparently, just as performance in other fields…

May 10, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

Can justice be served online?

I recently had an experience with online dispute resolution. And it wasn’t pretty. I am embarrassed to admit it all came about when I clicked on an alluring ad for a face cream. I charged $4.95 on my credit card and within a few days received the product (curiously absent…

May 4, 2017 8:30 AM CDT

Rethinking rewards: What BigLaw can do about pay

I just completed a renovation that took over four months—the apartment hadn’t been touched in 40 years. Because I visited the job site almost every week, I got to know the construction crew well and gained respect for their work ethic and attention to detail. Afterwards, in appreciation, I gave…

Apr 27, 2017 8:30 AM CDT

Choosing your law firm’s optimal markets

I think many law firms historically acquired their clients first and their markets second. Somewhere early in a firm’s genesis, one of its lawyers landed a client and performed the assigned tasks well; impressed, that client hired the lawyer again and recommended the lawyer to a similar client, which also retained the lawyer, and more followed.

Apr 13, 2017 8:30 AM CDT

Can changing how we measure lawyer performance unlock diversity?

HP’s legal department recently announced that it will withhold up to 10 percent of fees from law firms that do not meet its diversity standards, to draw attention to law’s lagging performance in advancing diversity.

Apr 6, 2017 8:30 AM CDT

What lawyers can learn from a dollar-store model

Innovation has been the buzzword in the legal sector for several years. These days, there is a seminar or conference on innovation or IT disruption in the legal sector every week. Fueled by these repeated messages, many law firms start building apps, giving models away for free or embark on using software for such tasks as due diligence.

Mar 14, 2017 8:30 AM CDT