Law Firm
Former White & Case London Head + PE Fund Create Legal Tech Angel Network
November 18, 2016
A new angel investment network, Hamilton Ramsay, largely comprising former partners of major law firms, including from White & Case, is launching in the UK to help grow legal tech start-ups with seed capital and mentoring. The angel investment group has been co-developed by Freddie Bellhouse, a former associate at Kirkland & Ellis and founder of the Fordhouse Equity fund, which invests exclusively in small businesses based in the UK. The goal will be to support a new wave of legal...
November 18, 2016
A new angel investment network, Hamilton Ramsay, largely comprising former partners of major law firms, including from White & Case, is launching in the UK to help grow legal tech start-ups with seed capital and mentoring. The angel investment group has been co-developed by Freddie Bellhouse, a former associate at Kirkland & Ellis and founder of the Fordhouse Equity fund, which invests exclusively in small businesses based in the UK. The goal will be to support a new wave of legal...
What Texas Lawyers Should Know From the Clio Trends Report
November 18, 2016
Many were surprised to learn at the Clio Cloud Conference in September that of the 150,000 actively using the cloud-based law practice management software, lawyers were only billing 28 percent of their available work hours. The folks at Clio broke down the findings of its full 2016 Legal Trends Report—which outlines several industry metrics for billing rates, hours billed, fee structures, and more—and focused on Texas attorneys, specifically. Here’s some of what they found: The average...
November 18, 2016
Many were surprised to learn at the Clio Cloud Conference in September that of the 150,000 actively using the cloud-based law practice management software, lawyers were only billing 28 percent of their available work hours. The folks at Clio broke down the findings of its full 2016 Legal Trends Report—which outlines several industry metrics for billing rates, hours billed, fee structures, and more—and focused on Texas attorneys, specifically. Here’s some of what they found: The average...
Citi Report: Third-Quarter Growth Slowed
November 16, 2016
Nine-month quarterly flash survey results from Citi Private Bank show further evidence of the continued challenges facing the legal industry. Momentum has slowed since the strong start to 2016—when we saw growth in demand of 1.8 percent and growth in revenue of 5.8 percent—resulting in just 0.3 percent growth in demand and 3.7 percent growth in revenue at the nine-month point. These numbers are similar to the modest results we've come to expect throughout most of the post-recession years. Notably,...
November 16, 2016
Nine-month quarterly flash survey results from Citi Private Bank show further evidence of the continued challenges facing the legal industry. Momentum has slowed since the strong start to 2016—when we saw growth in demand of 1.8 percent and growth in revenue of 5.8 percent—resulting in just 0.3 percent growth in demand and 3.7 percent growth in revenue at the nine-month point. These numbers are similar to the modest results we've come to expect throughout most of the post-recession years. Notably,...
For Law Firms, AI is Becoming Part of the Legal Practice
November 14, 2016
Increasingly, law firms are beginning to accept that the marketplace is changing and therefore their business practices must be assessed. And in doing so, there’s consensus building around the notion that AI might be very beneficial to improving legal services and addressing ongoing market challenges. As Allens partner and practice group leader Anna Collyer said in a roundtable discussion with The Australian, AI is “technology that can effectively rep[lace what it is that lawyers have done in the past...
November 14, 2016
Increasingly, law firms are beginning to accept that the marketplace is changing and therefore their business practices must be assessed. And in doing so, there’s consensus building around the notion that AI might be very beneficial to improving legal services and addressing ongoing market challenges. As Allens partner and practice group leader Anna Collyer said in a roundtable discussion with The Australian, AI is “technology that can effectively rep[lace what it is that lawyers have done in the past...
WordRake Editing and Proofreading Software Releases Version 3
November 12, 2016
WordRake, the editing and proofreading add-in for Microsoft Word and Outlook that is designed for lawyers and other professionals, released its version 3 yesterday. With more than 600 new editing algorithms and 900 enhancements to existing algorithms, WordRake 3 offers 25 percent more edits and even greater accuracy, according to a company announcement. Version 3 also simplifies the interface to allow users to see all editing suggestions for an entire document with just one click of the Rake...
November 12, 2016
WordRake, the editing and proofreading add-in for Microsoft Word and Outlook that is designed for lawyers and other professionals, released its version 3 yesterday. With more than 600 new editing algorithms and 900 enhancements to existing algorithms, WordRake 3 offers 25 percent more edits and even greater accuracy, according to a company announcement. Version 3 also simplifies the interface to allow users to see all editing suggestions for an entire document with just one click of the Rake...
Per-Partner Revenue Slipped in 2015, Study Finds
November 11, 2016
Law firms—especially small and midsize ones—faced a tough economic landscape in 2015, with sliding revenue and stagnant partner compensation, according to the latest survey of firm finances by ALM Legal Intelligence. Revenue per partner averaged $468,511 at the 574 firms that responded to this year's Survey of Law Firm Economics, down from $491,729 in 2014. That 4.7 percent decline is the largest since ALM's research arm began tracking revenue per partner in 1985. Even though firms slashed...
November 11, 2016
Law firms—especially small and midsize ones—faced a tough economic landscape in 2015, with sliding revenue and stagnant partner compensation, according to the latest survey of firm finances by ALM Legal Intelligence. Revenue per partner averaged $468,511 at the 574 firms that responded to this year's Survey of Law Firm Economics, down from $491,729 in 2014. That 4.7 percent decline is the largest since ALM's research arm began tracking revenue per partner in 1985. Even though firms slashed...
BigLaw Moneyball
November 5, 2016
Littler Mendelson is the second Am Law 100 firm (after Drinker Biddle & Reath) to follow in the Oakland A’s footsteps by hiring a dedicated head of data analytics. It’s only a matter of time before Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill are playing Big Law partners. In job interviews with half a dozen law firms last year, Zev Eigen quizzed firm leaders as much as they probed him. They wondered what a data scientist with a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology could do for them. He...
November 5, 2016
Littler Mendelson is the second Am Law 100 firm (after Drinker Biddle & Reath) to follow in the Oakland A’s footsteps by hiring a dedicated head of data analytics. It’s only a matter of time before Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill are playing Big Law partners. In job interviews with half a dozen law firms last year, Zev Eigen quizzed firm leaders as much as they probed him. They wondered what a data scientist with a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology could do for them. He...
When Will the Number of Law Jobs Rise?
October 26, 2016
At Attorney at Work, consultant Jordan Furlong sees a decline in law jobs continuing. However, the decline is only temporary: But by 2026, this cull of lawyers — that feels like the appropriate word — should have ended, and legal jobs should be on the upswing again. That’s because there’ll be a much wider diversity of legal careers and more platforms on which they can develop. To learn what will cause the upswing, please click here.
October 26, 2016
At Attorney at Work, consultant Jordan Furlong sees a decline in law jobs continuing. However, the decline is only temporary: But by 2026, this cull of lawyers — that feels like the appropriate word — should have ended, and legal jobs should be on the upswing again. That’s because there’ll be a much wider diversity of legal careers and more platforms on which they can develop. To learn what will cause the upswing, please click here.
Arbitration Clause Resources
October 25, 2016
▪ Latham & Watkins Guide to International Arbitration ▪ Proskauer Guide to Arbitration ▪ Practical Law (numerous helpful resources – subscription required) ▪ Dispute Resolution Around the World (Baker & McKenzie) ▪ Arbitration Nation (blog) ▪ Kluwer Arbitration Blog ▪ Arbitration Notes (blog) ▪ Arbitral Institutions and Arbitration Courts (listing) ▪ List of Global Arbitration Bodies ▪ Sample Arbitration Clause (ACC) ▪ Sample Arbitration Clauses (ABA/Hogan...
October 25, 2016
▪ Latham & Watkins Guide to International Arbitration ▪ Proskauer Guide to Arbitration ▪ Practical Law (numerous helpful resources – subscription required) ▪ Dispute Resolution Around the World (Baker & McKenzie) ▪ Arbitration Nation (blog) ▪ Kluwer Arbitration Blog ▪ Arbitration Notes (blog) ▪ Arbitral Institutions and Arbitration Courts (listing) ▪ List of Global Arbitration Bodies ▪ Sample Arbitration Clause (ACC) ▪ Sample Arbitration Clauses (ABA/Hogan...
Will AI Rush in a ‘Skills Renaissance’ in Law?
October 21, 2016
What’s the deal with young people these days? Well, in the context of lawyers, the young are leading the way with technology. A recent Reuters blog pegs the innovators’ age range between generations Y (born mid-70s to early 2000s) and Z (the 90s – 2000s), within which lie the individuals that are transforming the future of legal services. And nothing looks to impact law more significantly in the coming decade than artificial intelligence (AI). The real-world benefit of its application is “continuing...
October 21, 2016
What’s the deal with young people these days? Well, in the context of lawyers, the young are leading the way with technology. A recent Reuters blog pegs the innovators’ age range between generations Y (born mid-70s to early 2000s) and Z (the 90s – 2000s), within which lie the individuals that are transforming the future of legal services. And nothing looks to impact law more significantly in the coming decade than artificial intelligence (AI). The real-world benefit of its application is “continuing...
