Published in Riverness·Updated May 8InexhaustibleIn 1896, U.S. Secretary of War Daniel S. Lamont sent Congress this optimistic assessment of Florida’s Apalachicola River and its principal tributaries: “Emptying into Apalachicola River are the Chattahoochee, Flint, and Chipola rivers, and many creeks and streams on which border, in almost inexhaustible quantities, cypress and pine, oak, ash…3 min read
Dec 22, 2020A Flying AestheticA Flying Aesthetic Perhaps it was the Wright brothers who first put a stamp of practicality on flying. They were mechanics, empiricists, imminently practical men. Today, most pilots would describe themselves that way — practical, skilled, mechanical — anything but artistic. And if you listened to that self description uncritically…8 min read
Published in rethinking.legal·May 15, 2020Artisanal Legal Documents Need to Die NowFirst in the Future-Proofing Series “[I]f your firm is rising to meet the new demands of a post-pandemic legal economy, and, in particular, if you expect to embrace the increased risk-shifting toward law firms that now seems inevitable, you will be best served by investing soon in document automation. Document assembly platforms and expert systems…Law Firm13 min read
Published in rethinking.legal·Jan 28, 2019The Missing “E” in Legal InnovationInnovation talk Cruise through the business press these days, or any number of legal industry resources, and you’ll find the word “innovation” coming up often. It’s become a theme of our age, and no less in law than in any other discipline. Especially since the Great Recession, law firm clients…Design Thinking12 min read
Published in rethinking.legal·Mar 10, 2018Bringing Information Age Business Skills to Law“[E]very company has to be a software and analytics company.” Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE A Guild Undone. Law has long been practiced as a kind of medieval craft guild. The guilds of the Middle Ages were associations of artisans that gained considerable economic power through tightly regulating the rules…Law30 min read
Published in rethinking.legal·Sep 5, 2017What Uber Can Teach Lawyers(and, no, it’s not what you think) Ride sharing services figure big in your life when you live on the water — as in no house, no car, yes, really on the water. That’s how my wife and I live, and Uber has become an essential link to those civilized necessities that lie just beyond pedestrian and…Law6 min read
Published in rethinking.legal·Aug 10, 2017Are Lawyers Really Luddites?“How many lawyers does it take to change a light bulb?” the predictably lame legal technology joke goes. “None,” is the answer. “Lawyers don’t change anything. They’re Luddites.” In 1779, Ned Ludd allegedly broke a stocking frame — a mechanical knitting machine — in fit of rage. Whether he did…Law11 min read
Published in rethinking.legal·Apr 15, 2017It’s the Service Model, StupidSix Steps Toward Transforming Client Service “Wait, wait,” I can hear lawyers protesting. “My clients love me. I’m great at service.” But our clients aren’t telling us they don’t like us. Rather, they’re saying that, as good a job as we do plugging jacks into our old-fashioned switchboard, and as…Law9 min read
Published in rethinking.legal·Apr 8, 2017Start the Revolution in the Middle?Are Mid-sized Firms the Key to Transforming the Legal Service Model? “Listen,” consultants are always telling mid-sized law firms, “You’ve got three choices in today’s legal marketplace: merge, grow, or die.” And that’s accepted wisdom. Law practice economics don’t lie. Mid-sized firms may try to compete for profitable corporate litigation…Law8 min read
Published in rethinking.legal·Feb 28, 2017ERPs for Big Law: Foresight or Folly?Should large law firms spend the money and time needed to implement Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software? Ten years ago, when several large law firms declared an intention to implement ERP software from SAP AG, I wrote an article suggesting they might want to reconsider. I argued that ERP’s present…Erp Software15 min read
