Last week, I contended that when it comes to the current lawyer admission process, law schools are part of the problem and show little interest in being part of the solution. Two articles published since then do give me some hope for the academy, both from Canadian law school deans: “Five new developments to reshape… Read more »
Posts By:
The decline and fall of law school
As every frustrated customer knows, there comes a time when you stop trying to negotiate with a stubborn supplier and start looking for alternatives. I think that time is just about here for the legal profession in its relationship with law schools. If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you probably already know that… Read more »
At the crossroads of regulation
I respectfully suggest that we stop using the following lines from Henry VI Part 2, Act 4, Scene 2 in conversations about the modern legal profession: DICK: The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers. CADE: Nay, that I mean to do. Is not this a lamentable thing, that of the skin of… Read more »
Canadian Judicial Council 40th Anniversary Conference, Ottawa, ON
I’m honoured to organize and present a special session on the future of the justice system during the 40th Anniversary Conference of the Canadian Judicial Council at the Hilton Lac-Leamy in Gatineau, Québec (near Ottawa) on Wednesday, April 18, 2012.
Association of Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA) 2012 Mid-Year Conference, New Orleans, LA
I’m very happy to deliver a 75-minute plenary address on the immediate future of the legal marketplace at the 48th Mid-Year Conference of the Association of Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA) in New Orleans, Louisiana.
We measure what we value
People love lists. We love the choosiness, the ordering, the nice linear way they stack up or count down. There’s a reason why every cover of Cosmopolitan includes at least one numbered list. You think Stephen Covey would be a millionaire today if he’d merely written The Habits of Highly Successful People? You think we’d… Read more »
College of Law Practice Management 2011 Futures Conference, Chicago, IL
I’m pleased to be moderating a panel on international developments in the practice of law at the College of Law Practice Management’s 2011 Futures Conference: Challenging the Law Practice Model in Chicago on October 28-29.
Federation of Law Societies of Canada Annual Meeting, Charlottetown, PE
I’m honoured to join a special panel on the lawyer admission process at the annual meeting of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, September 16-17.
Goodbye to all that
Last week, having written about the rise of online disruptors and the emergence of super-boutiques, I promised that the final entry in this de facto trilogy would identify how lawyers and law firms can ensure their profitability in this new environment. But then I spent three days at ILTA’s Rev-elation, the 2011 annual meeting of… Read more »
The rise of the super-boutique
Yesterday, I advanced the notion that lawyers’ profitability now depends on what they do and how they do it. One reason is disruptive internet-based providers that not only are grabbing commodity work and profiting from it, but more dangerously, are also changing the values clients associate with “good legal service” to emphasize speed, affordability and… Read more »