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"Defining the Law Firm of the Future"

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi: "What will the law firm of the future look like? That was the question for a panel of general counsel, law firm partners and industry observers at a panel in New York City Thursday night. If there was consensus among them on any point -- and I'm not sure there was -- it was this: The firm that will thrive in the future is the firm that is able to deliver better value through innovation and technology.

 

The panel was hosted by LexisNexis to highlight its release of a survey on the state of the legal industry, which I recap in a separate post. D.M. Levine of The American Lawyer has already provided his report on the panel. It was moderated by Darryl Cross, vice president of client profitability at LexisNexis, and included:

· Richard N. Baer, EVP, general counsel and CAO, Qwest

· Martin F. Cunniff, partner, Howrey

· Michael S. Helfer, general counsel and corporate secretary, Citigroup

· William D. Henderson, professor of law, Indiana University

· Peter J. Kalis, chairman and global managing partner, K&L Gates

· Thomas J. Sabatino Jr., former EVP and general counsel, Schering-Plough

· Michael F. Walsh, president and CEO, U.S. legal markets, LexisNexis

 

All on the panel agreed that law firms should change how they do business. All did not agree, however, on what that change should look like. In fact, the one other point of consensus among the panelists may have been that there is no one-size-fits-all answer for firms or for clients. The legal industry is not a monolith, said Kalis, and any attempt to define it as such is a fallacy.

 

If change is to come, it should be through the mutual efforts of law firms and clients, several panelists said. The discussion should not about "us" and "them," said Sabatino, who is also a director of the Association of Corporate Counsel. "There should be synergy between clients and firms." Qwest's Baer agreed: "This isn't an adversarial situation between clients and firms."

 

Maybe not, but the panelists did not always see eye-to-eye. Some of the key points of discussion:

On law firm profitability...

On alternative fees...

On law firm management...

On demand for legal services...

On training of new lawyers...

On "procurement" of outside counsel...

 

In a final "lightning round," moderator Cross asked the panelists, "In 2015, what will be different?" Their answers illustrated their divergent perspectives:

· Baer: Law firms are smaller.

· Kalis: Law firms are bigger.

· Walsh: The core law firm model has changed.

· Helfer: Firms are more entrepreneurial.

· Henderson: Smaller firms will make more money.

· Sabatino: Law firms are transparent and built on a model of trust.

· Cunniff: Careers will be more customized."

 

The active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: Legal Blog Watch, 8 December 2009

Full post as published by Stark County Law Library Blawg on December 09, 2009 (boomark / email).