Tis the season to discuss next year’s law firm rate increases.
In the American Lawyer’s entry on this topic two days ago, legal industry experts cited a multitude of factors that could drive 2024’s pricing.
Except one: Clients’ purchasing power. And clients’ willingness to use their purchasing power.
And the fear that constrains almost all general counsel and chief legal officers from robustly leveraging that purchasing power in rate discussions with outside counsel. Continue reading
Since I first met him 5 years ago, I’ve come to regard Mark Cohen, along with the UK’s Richard Susskind, as one of the world’s two leading authorities on the legal profession’s future. Here’s what he wrote in his most recent regular column for Forbes, entitled “Law’s Delayed Future” (subscription required):
“The industry is a digital laggard, misaligned with the needs of business and society … Law’s future has been delayed by the legal profession, not by the absence of tools, resources, and a digital transformation roadmap ….
“If lawyers do not lead the legal function’s future, business will … The legal function … will be a proactive, positive force in the enterprise, not a reactive, ‘department of no'”. Continue reading
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