The New Normal

The bad business of ignoring the justice gap

Roughly two-thirds of those eligible for legal aid in Massachusetts (read: people in extreme poverty) are turned away because there aren’t enough legal aid attorneys. Approximately 80 percent of all individuals in civil court represent themselves—in matters that will change their lives in drastic ways. Whether our law schools have…

Feb 18, 2016 8:00 AM CST

What happens to BigLaw when banks become software companies?

For the latest in the ongoing debate between those predicting disruption for law firms, and those who see a slower evolution, see the report (PDF) from Georgetown Law and Ron Friedman’s response. Georgetown sees disruption; Ron is not having it. But here at the New Normal, we’ve always maintained that…

Feb 9, 2016 8:30 AM CST

Richard Susskind Q&A: ‘The competition that kills you ... may not look like you’

In anticipation of author and legal consultant Richard Susskind’s visit to the U.S., he and Paul Lippe discussed the impetus behind Susskind’s new book (co-authored with his son, Daniel), The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts, and the challenges facing law and all…

Jan 28, 2016 8:30 AM CST

Profession at a crossroads: Will lawyers lead, follow or get out of the way?

In October, I wrote about Richard and Daniel Susskind’s new book, The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts. The Susskinds will be visiting the U.S. (Cambridge and New York City) in a few weeks, so I thought it would be worth a little…

Jan 28, 2016 8:30 AM CST

10 ways to reform the civil justice system by changing the culture of the courts

Civil justice reform is on the march, and it is much needed. A survey (PDF) conducted on behalf of the National Center for State Courts in October echoes this sentiment, and captures the overall public perception of our courts. Americans believe that the courts are political (61 percent), inefficient (52…

Jan 14, 2016 8:00 AM CST

Simplicity bias: Lessons for lawyers from industrial design

When I was a young lawyer, I was asked to draft an important brief for a major client. After days of research, I wrote my masterpiece (really a tome) that would anticipate and destroy any possible avenue the plaintiff would have for evading summary judgment. When I hit “print,” I…

Nov 23, 2015 8:30 AM CST

‘Grow’ your law school? The what, why and whether of Denver Law

While many law schools and law firms are successfully grappling with change, others are not. To better understand the what, why and whether of leading an institution forward, let’s look at Denver University’s Sturm College of Law as part of our series exploring Prudent Innovation. The What Denver Law is…

Oct 28, 2015 1:45 PM CDT

Will there be a ‘New Deal’ for the legal profession?

For those interested in the New Normal in law, there has been no more prolific or significant thinker in this field than Richard Susskind. Richard has long been the leading analyst and visionary around how law and legal services are changing and will change with technology. Richard, together with his…

Oct 21, 2015 7:56 AM CDT

Volkswagen: Where were the lawyers?

With Volkswagen reeling from one of the worst corporate scandals of our time, let’s consider the same question asked of Enron and other similar debacles: Where were the lawyers? According to the New York Times, Volkswagen said that 11 million of its diesel cars worldwide were equipped with software that…

Oct 13, 2015 9:05 AM CDT

‘Prudent innovation’ at William Mitchell: Extending the reach of learning

In my last piece on Prudent Innovation, I suggested there were five schools of thought in response to the “disruption” taking place in law: • Denial. It’s just a blip, and things will return to normal. • Nostalgia. Things used to be better in the autonomous, professional, nonmarket, pre-Am Law,…

Sep 24, 2015 8:30 AM CDT

‘Prudent innovation’ in law school—Colorado moves forward

Last month, I talked about Prudent Innovation for law firms. This week, I want to talk about Prudent Innovation in law schools. The argument for Prudent Innovation is based on some simple ideas: • The world is changing pretty fast, but law is both resistant to change (so naturally changes…

Sep 10, 2015 8:19 AM CDT

Lawyers need to move beyond ‘access to justice’ to close the legal services gap

By many measures, lawyers’ “access to justice” initiatives are entirely ineffective: • A study (PDF) from the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services found that high-volume state courts are at “saturation level” of pro se litigants. • According to the 2012-2013 World Justice Project’s Rule…

Sep 1, 2015 8:30 AM CDT

3 reasons firms are starting to embrace ‘prudent innovation’

Could most law firms deliver 20 percent more useful work at 20 percent less cost on a typical matter? I think the answer is self-evidently “YES,” and we’re increasingly seeing firms mobilize to ensure they do—or risk getting left behind. Call it Prudent Innovation. Let’s look at some recent developments.…

Aug 25, 2015 8:30 AM CDT

Learn how to balance efficiency with your level of service—or miss opportunities

The field of operations management is focused on creating efficient and effective business operations. It recognizes that there are trade-offs that must be made between efficiency and service level (or other similar metrics) in any organization’s business and operations strategy. Companies, as a general rule, cannot be both highly efficient…

Aug 12, 2015 8:59 AM CDT

How lawyers can embrace mistakes

Lawyers hate mistakes. They can be career-killers if you make them as an associate. Lawyers worry that clients will fire them or sue them if they make a mistake as a more senior level. So we have created a profession that welcomes a “choose to ignore” mistakes mentality. That is…

Aug 6, 2015 8:30 AM CDT