Behold, the law firms of the future:
Lean operations powered by technology, with heavy reliance on outsourced labor and non-lawyer professionals. Reliance on economies of scale, corporate business practices and technology to maximize efficiencies. Laser-focused dedication to client demands for results and bye, bye billable hour. And even a little bit of outside investment, for
So what if lawyers could match an occasional need for office space with existing and under-utilized capacity?
For example, maybe a group of solos want to set up a monthly legal clinic for start-ups but can’t figure out where to host it? Or maybe you want to host a group of solos for a hands-on
Dear Law Schools,
I’m guessing most of you don’t read my blog (not sufficiently academic or arcane) so permit me to introduce myself. I am a real, live practicing lawyer with a firm in Washington D.C. Though perhaps atypical for a solo or small, I focus on several growing fields (emerging renewable energy technologies and
On the singles scene, a pick-up line like “my place or yours” isn’t likely to attract many takers. But on the shingle scene (as in hanging-a-shingle), several different companies are betting that the proposition “our platform [not] yours” will resonate with solos and smalls. In the past few months, two relatively new companies –
Editor’s note: see updates at the end of the post
Last week, the ABA Task Force issued a Draft Report and Recommendations on the Future of Legal Education . Among other things, the Task Force recommended the concept of limited licensing of non-lawyers who could directly serve clients as well as development of educational programs
Will non-lawyer ownership of law firms become a reality in the United States? That’s the question raised by Riverview Law’s Andy Dawes’ presentation on alternative legal business models and non-lawyer owned firms at the Clio User conference and summarized at length by Sam Glover at Lawyerist.
Although the non-lawyer ownership question has enormous implications
User conferences are all the rage with Silicon Valley start ups. Salesforce’s Dreamforce user conferences are legendary profitable affairs, but lots of other tech companies host them as well to bring together an ecosystem of users.
More recently, the user conference has entered the legal tech sphere. Avvo has been sponsoring road shows and
As you’ve probably heard, in a recent speech, President Obama endorsed cutting law school down to two years, with students spending their final year gaining work experience clerking or practicing at a firm. Eliminating the third year of law school would reduce the overall cost for students, many of whom now graduate with debts
According to the 2013 ABA Legal Technology Survey, virtual law practices are on the decline , reports Bob Ambrogi at his Law Sites Blog. The decrease isn’t particularly significant; the number of lawyers who describe their practice as virtual declined from 7 to 5 percent between 2012 and 2013, while the number of lawyers
Looks like ABA Legal Rebel, Carl Malamud, leader of the “free law movement” is at it again. This time, reports the Washington Post, Malamud has been busy posting building codes that govern at his website, PublicResource.org. Trouble is, the building codes — enacted by state and local law — incorporate industry-developed