Practice
Corporate Law Firm Rates Up Despite Weakening Demand
February 22, 2016
Stagnating Demand Rates at large corporate law firms have risen by three to four per cent a year since the economic downturn, according to Citi Private Bank’s Law Firm Group. But it seems that prices are getting steeper amid stagnating demand; according to Wells Fargo Private Bank’s Legal Specialty Group, demand for legal services from corporate law firms rose only 0.5 per cent last year, as clients keep more legal work in-house and law firms face competition from lower-cost legal-service...
February 22, 2016
Stagnating Demand Rates at large corporate law firms have risen by three to four per cent a year since the economic downturn, according to Citi Private Bank’s Law Firm Group. But it seems that prices are getting steeper amid stagnating demand; according to Wells Fargo Private Bank’s Legal Specialty Group, demand for legal services from corporate law firms rose only 0.5 per cent last year, as clients keep more legal work in-house and law firms face competition from lower-cost legal-service...
Algorithmic Contracts by Lauren Henry Scholz
February 22, 2016
Recently, I had the good fortune to interact with Lauren Henry Scholz, currently Resident Fellow and Knight Law and Media Scholar at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School. Scholz’s in-progress article, Algorithmic Contracts, addresses topics that will be of great interest to many readers of this blog. She not only tackles the fiscally important development of technological automation of contracting processes, but she also wades into the significant implications of computer-facilitated...
February 22, 2016
Recently, I had the good fortune to interact with Lauren Henry Scholz, currently Resident Fellow and Knight Law and Media Scholar at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School. Scholz’s in-progress article, Algorithmic Contracts, addresses topics that will be of great interest to many readers of this blog. She not only tackles the fiscally important development of technological automation of contracting processes, but she also wades into the significant implications of computer-facilitated...
Harvard Prepares Students To Thrive In A Disrupted Legal Profession
February 21, 2016
Harvard Law Bulletin (Fall 2015), The Laws of Adaptation: Change is coming to the legal profession—whether attorneys like it or not—and HLS is at the forefront of efforts to anticipate it, and prepare students. The warning bells have been ringing for at least two decades: The legal profession as we’ve known it is doomed, and lawyers must adapt—or face extinction. For the most part, these dire predictions have been ignored, even as globalization and technology have revolutionized markets,...
February 21, 2016
Harvard Law Bulletin (Fall 2015), The Laws of Adaptation: Change is coming to the legal profession—whether attorneys like it or not—and HLS is at the forefront of efforts to anticipate it, and prepare students. The warning bells have been ringing for at least two decades: The legal profession as we’ve known it is doomed, and lawyers must adapt—or face extinction. For the most part, these dire predictions have been ignored, even as globalization and technology have revolutionized markets,...
Avvo Offers Fixed-Fee Legal Services in 18 States
February 21, 2016
Expanding on a fledgling plan to offer fixed-fee legal services through a network of lawyers, Avvo has announced that it is rolling out the program in 18 states beginning Tuesday. “The beauty here is we get them the customer, we get the cash up front, and they don’t have to worry about billing or tracking time,” Avvo founder and CEO Mark Britton told Robert Ambrogi’s LawSites blog, explaining the services provided by Avvo Legal Services to its lawyer network. “This is a shortcut to everything...
February 21, 2016
Expanding on a fledgling plan to offer fixed-fee legal services through a network of lawyers, Avvo has announced that it is rolling out the program in 18 states beginning Tuesday. “The beauty here is we get them the customer, we get the cash up front, and they don’t have to worry about billing or tracking time,” Avvo founder and CEO Mark Britton told Robert Ambrogi’s LawSites blog, explaining the services provided by Avvo Legal Services to its lawyer network. “This is a shortcut to everything...
How Big Data Is Changing Disruptive Innovation
February 20, 2016
There is no doubt that disruption is underway here. These players create products that are cheaper and more accessible than their peers. But it’s not necessarily starting at the low end of the market, it’s coming from orthogonal industries with strong information synergy. It’s starting where the source of data is, then building the information enabled system to attack an incumbent industry. It’s time for executives, entrepreneurs, and innovators stop quibbling over whether something satisfies...
February 20, 2016
There is no doubt that disruption is underway here. These players create products that are cheaper and more accessible than their peers. But it’s not necessarily starting at the low end of the market, it’s coming from orthogonal industries with strong information synergy. It’s starting where the source of data is, then building the information enabled system to attack an incumbent industry. It’s time for executives, entrepreneurs, and innovators stop quibbling over whether something satisfies...
What Happened to the Class of 2010? Empirical Evidence of Structural Change in the Legal Profession
February 20, 2016
Poor employment outcomes have plagued law school graduates for several years. Legal scholars have debated whether these outcomes stem from macroeconomic cycles or from fundamental changes in the market for legal services. This Article examines that question empirically, using a database of employment outcomes for more than 1,200 lawyers who received their JDs in 2010. The analysis offers strong evidence of structural shifts in the legal market. Job outcomes have improved only marginally for the Class...
February 20, 2016
Poor employment outcomes have plagued law school graduates for several years. Legal scholars have debated whether these outcomes stem from macroeconomic cycles or from fundamental changes in the market for legal services. This Article examines that question empirically, using a database of employment outcomes for more than 1,200 lawyers who received their JDs in 2010. The analysis offers strong evidence of structural shifts in the legal market. Job outcomes have improved only marginally for the Class...
Ga. Case Could Decide Whether State Law Is In Public Domain
February 20, 2016
Can Georgia state law be copyrighted? A legal research company, Fastcase, is trying to prove that it can’t. The company filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Atlanta. The suit is against another research service, Casemaker, that has exclusive rights to Georgia's Rules and Regulations through an agreement with the state. According to Massachusetts attorney Bob Ambrogi, the case could have an impact outside of Georgia, since many states have these kinds of agreements with publishers....
February 20, 2016
Can Georgia state law be copyrighted? A legal research company, Fastcase, is trying to prove that it can’t. The company filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Atlanta. The suit is against another research service, Casemaker, that has exclusive rights to Georgia's Rules and Regulations through an agreement with the state. According to Massachusetts attorney Bob Ambrogi, the case could have an impact outside of Georgia, since many states have these kinds of agreements with publishers....
More In-House Lawyers Looking to Transition Back to the Firm
February 19, 2016
In-house departments may soon be facing an exodus of legal talent to law firms, as lawyers seek new opportunities and more varied work. Burgess Paluch Legal Recruitment director Doron Paluch has commented that growing numbers of in-house counsel are looking to steer their career paths back towards law firms. 'We see lawyers who genuinely enjoyed, and perhaps now miss, the structure and nature of private practice,' commented Mr Paluch, suggesting that the emerging trend bucks the well-worn wisdom...
February 19, 2016
In-house departments may soon be facing an exodus of legal talent to law firms, as lawyers seek new opportunities and more varied work. Burgess Paluch Legal Recruitment director Doron Paluch has commented that growing numbers of in-house counsel are looking to steer their career paths back towards law firms. 'We see lawyers who genuinely enjoyed, and perhaps now miss, the structure and nature of private practice,' commented Mr Paluch, suggesting that the emerging trend bucks the well-worn wisdom...
Citi Report: Managing Partners Losing Confidence in Economy
February 15, 2016
Managing partners’ confidence in the economy slumped in the last quarter of 2015, according to the latest Citi Private Bank Law Watch Managing Partner Confidence Index released Thursday. In the Citi index, scores of 0-99 indicate a lack of confidence; 100 is neutral and 101-200 is confident. Although managing partners' overall confidence remained in the positive range, their expectations for the economy at large slid six points to 97 in the final quarter. It was the first time since 2012 that...
February 15, 2016
Managing partners’ confidence in the economy slumped in the last quarter of 2015, according to the latest Citi Private Bank Law Watch Managing Partner Confidence Index released Thursday. In the Citi index, scores of 0-99 indicate a lack of confidence; 100 is neutral and 101-200 is confident. Although managing partners' overall confidence remained in the positive range, their expectations for the economy at large slid six points to 97 in the final quarter. It was the first time since 2012 that...
Nate Silver Helps Thomson Reuters Get Into The Ediscovery Game
February 14, 2016
The ediscovery game just got a little more interesting. And no, doing actual discovery is still as boring as ever, but the competitive space is definitely more juicy. At an event earlier this week at Thomson Reuter’s Times Square headquarters, timed nicely during the Legaltech show, Eric Laughlin, managing director of Legal Managed Services for Thomson Reuters, hosted a fireside chat with Fivethirtyeight.com’s Nate Silver to launch Thomson Reuters new product eDiscovery Point. Now, what...
February 14, 2016
The ediscovery game just got a little more interesting. And no, doing actual discovery is still as boring as ever, but the competitive space is definitely more juicy. At an event earlier this week at Thomson Reuter’s Times Square headquarters, timed nicely during the Legaltech show, Eric Laughlin, managing director of Legal Managed Services for Thomson Reuters, hosted a fireside chat with Fivethirtyeight.com’s Nate Silver to launch Thomson Reuters new product eDiscovery Point. Now, what...
