Comments on: The real impact of private equity

By: Lawyer Coach - Coaching & Training for Attorneys and Law Firm Administrators

Lawyer Coach - Coaching & Training for Attorneys and Law Firm Administrators — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:42:36 +0000

[...] Furlong recently wrote another insightful post relating to the future of law practice in light of the upcoming ability of UK law firms to accept [...]

By: Debra L Bruce

Debra L Bruce — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:41:33 +0000

This is such an important topic, and Jordan handled it well. It heralds the coming revolution in law practice. The revolution is inevitable, due to more factors than the future ability of UK and Australian law firms to raise external capital, although that will certainly have a significant impact. It is also fueled by the current commoditization of many legal services due to technological advances that permit the systemization of processes and instantaneous collaboration with lawyers around the world. Now the world-wide economic recession is putting additional pressure on firms to become more efficient and cost effective. Law firms that don’t pay attention to what Jordan is saying, do so at their peril. I threw in my 2 cents at http://www.lawyer-coach.com/raisingthebar/index.php/2009/08/31/how-investors-may-impact-the-future-of-law-practice/.

By: Peggy Stanier

Peggy Stanier — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:20:11 +0000

The evolution of the law firm and how firms should fit into the larger business world is an interesting topic, but once again I find myself disturbed by off-hand comments regarding legal research made by someone who should know better. You quote Joel Henning as saying “I suspect that more and better smart systems and processes would be developed and refined on an accelerated basis, systems that would accomplish many legal tasks beyond drafting and researching, reaching even to some problem solving.” If Mr. Henning insists on opining about how the practice of law can be changed, refined or made more profitable, he should understand the basics. Legal Research is problem solving at it’s most complex . It is not just being able to manipulate databases, list the cases or finding a statute. It requires the lawyer to understand the factual situation, find the relevant law, analyze that law, apply it to the facts and write about it – well. Research lawyers have embraced technology and been at the forefront of the push to bring other lawyers “online” but technology does not change the essential nature of the task – understanding the law and formulating an argument. It can be difficult, time consuming and the foundation of a winning case. It also continues to be, often in this column, under-rated. After 25 years of practicing as a research lawyer, I still find that it is other lawyers , legal commentators and journalists who do not understand the level of skill required to do research well and it disappoints me.