Practice
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...
A Fourth Way for Law Students
November 13, 2016
If this applies to you, here’s my basic advice: Start taking project-based classes in law school, typically found in your business school, management science school, or design/engineering. Think in terms of building a portfolio for yourself — showing deliverables that you (or you and a team) have created. Show proof that you can go beyond writing reports or doing analysis, to actually building stuff. Use these project based classes to learn how to manage projects, how to work interdisciplinarily,...
November 13, 2016
If this applies to you, here’s my basic advice: Start taking project-based classes in law school, typically found in your business school, management science school, or design/engineering. Think in terms of building a portfolio for yourself — showing deliverables that you (or you and a team) have created. Show proof that you can go beyond writing reports or doing analysis, to actually building stuff. Use these project based classes to learn how to manage projects, how to work interdisciplinarily,...
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...
All Eyes on AI: The New Focus of Legal Tech?
November 8, 2016
The phrase “put your money where your mouth is” is taking on new meaning in law. For a while vendors, technologists and forward-thinking operational professionals have been espousing the virtues and precautions around artificial intelligence (AI) in the legal workflow for the better part of a year, as everyone from investors to the professionals charged with making good use of their money are looking at AI as the next big thing. While still worlds away from the billions invested in financial...
November 8, 2016
The phrase “put your money where your mouth is” is taking on new meaning in law. For a while vendors, technologists and forward-thinking operational professionals have been espousing the virtues and precautions around artificial intelligence (AI) in the legal workflow for the better part of a year, as everyone from investors to the professionals charged with making good use of their money are looking at AI as the next big thing. While still worlds away from the billions invested in financial...
Thomas Jefferson on Plain English Drafting
November 6, 2016
The call for plain English drafting has a long history. After Thomas Jefferson drafted a bill to establish elementary schools in Virginia, he forwarded a copy to legislator Joseph Cabell and included this sardonic comment: I should apologize, perhaps, for the style of this bill. I dislike the verbose and intricate style of the English statutes .... You, however, can easily correct this bill to the taste of my brother lawyers, by making every other word a "said" or "aforesaid," and saying everything...
November 6, 2016
The call for plain English drafting has a long history. After Thomas Jefferson drafted a bill to establish elementary schools in Virginia, he forwarded a copy to legislator Joseph Cabell and included this sardonic comment: I should apologize, perhaps, for the style of this bill. I dislike the verbose and intricate style of the English statutes .... You, however, can easily correct this bill to the taste of my brother lawyers, by making every other word a "said" or "aforesaid," and saying everything...
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...
Churchill’s 5 Elements Of Persuasive Speaking
November 4, 2016
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, famed British Prime Minister during World War II, was not only a noted statesman, but also a gifted student of oration and history. Churchill wrote numerous pieces on history, the English language, and how to develop the skills necessary to develop a mastery of rhetoric. So gifted was Churchill that he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953: “…for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant...
November 4, 2016
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, famed British Prime Minister during World War II, was not only a noted statesman, but also a gifted student of oration and history. Churchill wrote numerous pieces on history, the English language, and how to develop the skills necessary to develop a mastery of rhetoric. So gifted was Churchill that he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953: “…for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant...
Your Stipulated Protective Order May Not Provide As Much Protection As You Expect
November 1, 2016
In a growing number of courts, a negotiated protective order entered for discovery purposes will not protect litigants’ confidential information from public disclosure. Stipulated protective orders are commonly used tools in complex litigation. These orders allow parties to designate material produced in discovery as confidential. But certain courts, most recently the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, have found that protective orders cannot be used as the sole basis to file that material...
November 1, 2016
In a growing number of courts, a negotiated protective order entered for discovery purposes will not protect litigants’ confidential information from public disclosure. Stipulated protective orders are commonly used tools in complex litigation. These orders allow parties to designate material produced in discovery as confidential. But certain courts, most recently the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, have found that protective orders cannot be used as the sole basis to file that material...
