Getting Smarter at Core Legal Work Marc Lauritsen College of Law Practice Management October 2010
Session Overview Today’s disruptive innovations The competitive squeeze Core lawyering activities and artifacts Humans and machines Transformative technologies on three fronts – Document drafting – Decision support – Dispute resolution / Deal making
Susskind’s Ten Disruptive Technologies Document assembly Relentless connectivity Electronic legal marketplace E-learning Online legal guidance Legal open-sourcing Closed legal communities Workflow and project management Embedded legal knowledge Online dispute resolution
Technologies with legal substance Document assembly Relentless connectivity Electronic legal marketplace E-learning Online legal guidance Legal open-sourcing Closed legal communities Workflow and project management Embedded legal knowledge Online dispute resolution
Other lawyers Non-'practice' providers The Squeeze Paying Work Values beyond effectiveness Distinctive lawyering values Self help systems Law ‘factories’ Doc prep services Form sites Virtual law firms Corporate insourcing Substantive systems Off shore lawyers Legal process outsourcers Generic process optimization Regulatory push back Venture funded providers Accountants
Funding shortfalls Resistance to change Legal Aid Assistance Substantive systems Generic process optimization
Work
WH WWH W WM WWM W
W M(actual) W M(possible)
Results AdvocacyAnalysisAdvice
DecisionsDealsDocuments
“Legal expert systems are so totally dreamy!”
Document Drafting and Analysis
Document preparation services Online forms
Online automated forms
Online services with lawyers in the loop
Decision Making
Choiceboxing
TIG
Deals and Dispute Resolution
Recap Specialized knowledge tools offer some of the most dramatic opportunities to work smarter They resonate with the distinctive forms of legal knowledge and work Those tools can also empower people to do some legal work themselves When legal work can be done smarter, someone will do it smarter
Other lawyers Non-'practice' providers The Squeeze Paying Work Values beyond effectiveness Distinctive lawyering values Self help systems Law ‘factories’ Doc prep services Form sites Virtual law firms Corporate insourcing Substantive systems Off shore lawyers Legal process outsourcers Generic process optimization Regulatory push back Venture funded megaliths Accountants