Law Firms

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photo-1461532257246-777de18cd58bThe law firm of the future continues to be a hot topic of discussion, not just here on Zen, but among lawyers around the world. Both at our recent ILN European Regional Conference and the Association of International Law Firm Network’s (AILFN) Inaugural Summit, the questions of “what comes next?” and “how do we prepare for it?” were on the tips of everyone’s tongues.

So I want to check back in on our series looking at what some of the industry’s experts had to say when asked:

What do you believe lawyers and law firms need to do to prepare for the future of legal services?”

You’ll remember that their answers were pulled together in an eBook by HighQ on Smart Law, available here.

The two thought leaders we’re looking at today both consider people to be at the center of the law firm of the future – which will be a relief to those lawyers who might be concerned that robots are about to take over their jobs. But we can all agree that while technology is still going to play a huge role in the next phase of the legal industry (and does already), the people are – and will always be – at its core. 
Continue Reading Law Firm of the Future: It’s About the People

photo-1457528877294-b48235bdaa68We continue to delve into the characteristics that will make up the most successful lawyers of the future. Last week, it was curiosity, innovation, open-mindedness, and a willingness to learn, which all really overlap. Today, we’ll look at what two more of the leaders in HighQ’s book on SmartLaw had  to say in answer to the question:

What do you believe lawyers and law firms need to do to prepare for the future of legal services?”

Continue Reading The Law Firm of the Future Will Need a Perfect Storm

photo-1447433865958-f402f562b843A couple of weeks ago, I shared HighQ’s eBook on Smart Law, addressing the question “What do you believe lawyers and law firms need to do to prepare for the future of legal services?” My response to their question is that firms need flexibility, and today and over the next few months, I want to look at what some of the other contributors consider to be essential to the future of the legal industry.

As I’m sure we all have our own thoughts on where the industry is headed and why, don’t be shy about sharing your answers to HighQ’s question in the comments, and responding to what the other contributors had to say as well! 
Continue Reading The Right Way to be a Lawyer of the Future

We’re excited to announce today that the ILN is forming a Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Specialty Group, which will be co-chaired by James Giszczak of McDonald Hopkins (Cleveland, Ohio) and Stuart Gerson of Epstein Becker & Green (Washington, DC). The group joins the ILN’s thirteen other practice and industry-focused specialty groups.

I have the opportunity to work closely with the chairs of our specialty groups as their facilitator, and I particularly enjoy working with lawyers who have a passion for their work, which Jim and Stuart certainly do in this area. I expect great things to come from the CDP guys and gals! 

I include the remainder of the press release for additional information about the group, and our two co-chairs. 

Both chairs are enthusiastic to push the group forward, with a goal of working together with the other members of the group to co-promote the combined strength and depth of expertise of its members, both domestically and internationally. A directory of ILN firms with Cybersecurity & Data Privacy expertise is already available on the ILN website.

Continue Reading International Lawyers Network Forms Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Specialty Group

There’s been a lot of chatter over the last few years about the "new normal" for law firms, and what that might mean.  Yesterday, I was reading an interesting article at Above the Law, which addressed the idea that the new normal is a lot like the "old normal" (making the boom time an aberrance and not the other way around). 

While that part was enlightening (and I recommend reading the article in full), what I found most useful were the lessons that the author felt we’d learned over the past four years and advice for BigLaw firms in dealing with the new normal.  We all recognize that BigLaw and mid-sized firms are different, but in this case, the advice are very much the same for both. We’ve been hearing it again and again, so it’s definitely time to start making some changes (if you haven’t already), to remain competitive. 

Continue Reading Mid-sized firms and How to Adjust to the “New Normal”

You may have noticed a lack of posting here lately – I’ve been waiting for Facebook to roll out their changes before going ahead with additional how-to’s. I don’t want to be obsolete too quickly! But I will be back this week with a re-cap of our corporate break out session at our recent European…

Barry Camson is an organization development consultant and trainer who works with organizations to help them be more collaborative and effective. He is a former practicing attorney in Boston. He can be reached at bcamson@aol.com.

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In our first two posts, we discussed some of the pitfalls that befall law firms today, as well as how the ILN network of law firms is managing its members to avoid these same pitfalls. Today, we will look at the ILN’s “secret sauce” and identify how this can be translated to firms, themselves.

Theory of Change

Underlying all of this is the “Theory of Change” of the ILN vis a vis that of the law firms that Maister spoke about. The ILN makes the assumption that trust and relationships will make the network and its members successful in meeting the needs of its members’ clients. The ILN bases its actions on these assumptions. The law firms of 2006 that Maister spoke about believed that skepticism and detachment would make lawyers successful in the courtroom, boardroom and in performing the business of the law firm.Continue Reading Building Relationships and Trust in a Network of Lawyers, Part III – Guest Post from Barry Camson

Barry Camson is an organization development consultant and trainer who works with organizations to help them be more collaborative and effective. He is a former practicing attorney in Boston. He can be reached at bcamson@aol.com.

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In the first post, we discussed how the characteristics that may make an attorney an effective advocate for his or her clients can often lead to a less successful law firm environment. Today, we will focus on how the ILN handles things differently in their Network.

ILN Environment

Purpose

The purpose of the ILN drives its actions – to create a trusted group of partners for lawyers who are looking to do business in other jurisdictions. Trust is at the core of the ILN.Continue Reading Building Relationships and Trust in a Network of Lawyers, Part II – Guest Post from Barry Camson

Barry Camson is an organization development consultant and trainer who works with organizations to help them be more collaborative and effective. He is a former practicing attorney in Boston. He can be reached at bcamson@aol.com.

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What can the International Lawyers Network (ILN) of law firms contribute to our knowledge of what it takes for law firms to succeed in the 21st century?

David Maister in an article in the April 2006 issue of The American Lawyer raises the issue of: “Are Law Firms Manageable.” In that article he delves into the reasons why law firms may not be and why in meeting their contemporary business needs they should be. Maister wonders whether law firms will be able to respond to the need for effective cross-office and cross-disciplinary action in order to meet the needs of clients.Continue Reading Building Relationships and Trust in a Network of Lawyers, Part I – Guest Post from Barry Camson

You may not be surprised to learn that during the 2011 Legal Marketing Association Annual Conference, I attended the session on Effectively Leveraging Social Media as a Business Development & Marketing Tool. And it was definitely a valuable session.  

The panel was moderated by Josh Fruchter, Principal at eLawMarketing, and featured Melanie Green, Director of Business Development & Marketing at Baker Daniels, Andrea Stimmel, Business Development Director, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle, and Russell Thomas, Director of Media & Public Relations at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice.

The panel began by asking who in the room worked at a firm that was tweeting, had a Facebook page, a LinkedIn profile, or blogs – the majority of the room was in this category.  Law firms lean more towards LinkedIn than Facebook based on the show of hands in the room, though a few of those on Twitter said they felt Facebook had value as well.  

The panel had crowdsourced questions from the attendees in advance of the session through the LMA Conference’s LinkedIn group, and the panel was built around this.  
Continue Reading Effectively Leveraging Social Media as a Business Development & Marketing Tool – An LMA Recap