Five thunderous claps startled me from my work as I ran out of my office to see if everything was alright down the hall. I thought someone had perhaps knocked over some bookcases in the library and I rushed to see if anyone was hurt. I quickly discovered the source of the troubling booms - our file clerk throwing away our collection of Federal Reporters. Part of my mind cringed with the thought of throwing these books away, and then I realized what a beautiful moment this actually was.
Last week marked my second week at the New Orleans law firm of Usry, Weeks, & Matthews. With no functional website, the firm is a technological anomaly in today's legal industry. The recent national trend has been to increase access of information available online. In this age of information and technology, consumers are driving content more and more every day. With websites like LegalZoom.com and Avvo.com, lawyers are satisfying this desire, and the industry has undergone dramatic change in recent years. Yet, the traditional law firm model remains constant. The billable hour, the often-condemned unit of measurement between lawyers and clients, is still the measuring stick of firm validity.
Fundamentally, however, the legal industry is still in flux today. The recent downfall of 100+ year old "Legal Titan" Dewey Leboeuf (see http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2012/05/14/247383.htm) evidences the changing times in legal practice.
One of those key changes has been in the area of access to legal information. The internet has fundamentally transformed our lives, the way we interact with people, and how we obtain information. Before the advent of computers, legal information, mostly in the form of cases, statutes, and secondary legal sources, were once only available in the form of books. These books were both voluminous and expensive. Very expensive. Assembling a working collection required to do significant research required the kind of capital only available to big law firms. At the minimum, this would have required purchasing hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of legal books.
As we've all heard, knowledge is power. No one knew this better than the big, power firms. Having amassed libraries of books, the firms cornered the market because they controlled the information.
Today, these sources are all available online. With a Westlaw or Lexis subscription and the click of a mouse, small firms, even solo practitioners, have the same access to legal information that was once dominated by BIG LAW. In effect, technology has given the little guys a level playing field. Subscribers now have access to appellate briefs, pleadings and motions on a district court level, and unlimited cases from around the country.
Last week marked my second week at the New Orleans law firm of Usry, Weeks, & Matthews. With no functional website, the firm is a technological anomaly in today's legal industry. The recent national trend has been to increase access of information available online. In this age of information and technology, consumers are driving content more and more every day. With websites like LegalZoom.com and Avvo.com, lawyers are satisfying this desire, and the industry has undergone dramatic change in recent years. Yet, the traditional law firm model remains constant. The billable hour, the often-condemned unit of measurement between lawyers and clients, is still the measuring stick of firm validity.
Fundamentally, however, the legal industry is still in flux today. The recent downfall of 100+ year old "Legal Titan" Dewey Leboeuf (see http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2012/05/14/247383.htm) evidences the changing times in legal practice.
One of those key changes has been in the area of access to legal information. The internet has fundamentally transformed our lives, the way we interact with people, and how we obtain information. Before the advent of computers, legal information, mostly in the form of cases, statutes, and secondary legal sources, were once only available in the form of books. These books were both voluminous and expensive. Very expensive. Assembling a working collection required to do significant research required the kind of capital only available to big law firms. At the minimum, this would have required purchasing hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of legal books.
As we've all heard, knowledge is power. No one knew this better than the big, power firms. Having amassed libraries of books, the firms cornered the market because they controlled the information.
Today, these sources are all available online. With a Westlaw or Lexis subscription and the click of a mouse, small firms, even solo practitioners, have the same access to legal information that was once dominated by BIG LAW. In effect, technology has given the little guys a level playing field. Subscribers now have access to appellate briefs, pleadings and motions on a district court level, and unlimited cases from around the country.
Maintaining big firms in today's economy requires lots of business to stay afloat. This business is only accomplishable through longstanding contracts with big clients. Cases come and go, but long business relationships persist through time. (I'll be discussing Law Firm/Client Relationships in a future post)
The rise of the "ad hoc law firm," such as Axiom (see http://www.axiomlaw.com/index.php/businessoflaw/) has demonstrated how firms can change the way they operate to adjust to customers' demands. Axiom capitalized on a new business model, letting attorneys work from home and keeping their offices to a minimum to reduce firm overhead costs. While this model does not, and will not, suit all firms, it has created a niche for more efficient legal services.
Axiom has thrived due to consumers of legal services, like all consumers in this down economy, demanding lower costs and increased transparency. These "ad hoc" firms have thrived recently, and they should not be taken lightly. Axiom, established in 2000, is the premier example of this success. The firm has grown to over 900 attorneys, with offices around the world in only twelve years. The firm represents nearly half of the Fortune 100 and shows no sign of slowing down.
In throwing away the books in our library, our firm symbolically began to embrace the future of the legal industry. Twenty years ago, throwing away those books would have been the equivalent of burning a pile of money. Even in the here and now, I was almost tempted to bring them home myself and establish my own collection. Then I remembered they're all just a click away.
RSS Feed