248 ABA Journal The New Normal articles.
You’d think that lawyers would be attracted to written rules.
Last post, I drew the link between our mental shortcuts and the operation of computer algorithms. In many instances,…
Jul 28, 2016 8:30 AM CDT
One of the joys of watching amazing lawyers at work is how quickly they get to the heart of the matter. Five minutes with an experienced partner can be worth…
Jul 21, 2016 8:30 AM CDT
Just because we do something all the time does not mean we are good at it. The internet, for example, has recently informed me that I don’t know the right…
Jul 14, 2016 8:30 AM CDT
On June 6, Cravath Swaine & Moore announced it was raising base salaries for starting associates from $160,000 per year to $180,000 per year. Of course, firms never give…
Jul 7, 2016 8:00 AM CDT
The ongoing discussion on the future of legal education all too often misses the opportunities for innovation and re-invention.
In its most recent discussion of the topic, for example, the…
Jun 23, 2016 8:00 AM CDT
If you are like me, your desk drawer is crammed with random office supplies like half-used notepads, loose paper clips and maybe a lonely Post-it note. I didn’t think much…
May 12, 2016 8:00 AM CDT
From the beginning of our conversation around the New Normal, we’ve argued that the way legal work is created, consumed and assessed would be more and more like other knowledge…
Apr 19, 2016 8:30 AM CDT
We are at the front end of something that will change the way the game is played. Or not. It’s early, and inertia has a stellar win/loss record. As mentioned…
Apr 14, 2016 9:00 AM CDT
The billable hour is not the immediate cause of all that ails the legal industry. Freedom from the tyranny of the billable hour would be a fine start. But there…
Apr 7, 2016 8:30 AM CDT
Corporate clients are displeased with their law firms. And the displeasure is not confined to opinion surveys. A decades-long decline (PDF) in realizations has been paired with flattening…
Mar 31, 2016 8:30 AM CDT
Everything is obvious once you know the answer. Humans excel at recognizing after-the-fact inevitability. We reconstruct a logical chain of causation that seems to suggest the outcome was predictable. Yet,…
Mar 24, 2016 8:30 AM CDT
It took 50 years from the advent of the driverless elevator for the public to become comfortable enough to use them. Even then, it was only because the elevator…
Mar 17, 2016 8:30 AM CDT
It is stunning how quickly technological advances become a ‘natural’ part of our landscape. In the mid 1990s, Richard Susskind was being labeled “dangerous” and “possibly insane.” His heresy?…
Mar 10, 2016 8:30 AM CST
The law does not exist for the purpose of keeping lawyers employed. I cribbed that line—and many others—from Richard Susskind back in the days when there was still a question…
Mar 3, 2016 8:30 AM CST
Recent disturbances in The Force of law firm economics (see Dickstein Shapiro’s demise) have brought some comments and observations directed to law firm capital. Some reflect multiple misunderstandings of…
Feb 22, 2016 8:30 AM CST
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.
