Big Law, Big Problems: The Bright Future For Small Firms
The era of the small law firm is dawning. When I graduated from Yale Law in 2010, the majority of my classmates accepted positions as associates at major law firms in major metropolises. They worked themselves silly at the very bottom of the totem pole. Four years later, many are questioning the vertical hierarchy: 7-10 years as an associate before the powers-that-be inform you whether, or more likely not, you’ve been admitted to the cabal: law firm partnership. And the big law business model is stumbling. Since “Bloody Thursday” in 2009 when big law firms laid off more than 748 staff and lawyers, dozens of firms have gone out of business or restructured. [Read more…]The Future of Legal Services in Canada: Trends and Issues
In Trends and Issues, CBA structures all of the information gathered to date into a cohesive narrative: it draws out the themes from the background papers, identifies the overarching trends and issues that the legal profession will likely face in the future marketplace – and already does in many cases. From this paper flow the questions that will take the Futures initiative into its second, consultative phase. [Read more…]Where Is the Future of Law Taking Us?
If a half-century’s worth of sci-fi B-movies and Jetsons reruns have taught us anything, it’s that it is impossible to accurately predict the future. Cars still don’t fly, nobody teleports anywhere and, despite sending everything from a clown to the Olympic torch to space, there’s still no such thing as a lunar colony. It’s interesting though when people try to forecast where we’ll be in a few years from now — and when those people are thought leaders in your own industry, I for one, take notice. LexisNexis Canada’s recent whitepaper, The Future of Law did just that. The whitepaper outlines four possible scenarios for the legal system by 2020. But one, in particular, should stand to lawyers eager to succeed in the future: Technology is creating an access to information like never before and giving clients more choice about who they hire — thus creating an increasingly competitive landscape for us, the suppliers. [Read more…]The end of the gravy train? The future of law firms’ lucrative litigation mandates
Litigators are seeing even once resilient big-ticket fees come under pressure from the boardroom as companies look for ways to slash their legal bills. James Boxell reports In an era of mammoth banking investigations and costly disputes involving Russian billionaires, litigators are still feted as the big-billing bread winners of many law firms. But evidence is mounting that they are being forced to scrap far harder for business, particularly on the more routine cases that make up a large slice of the litigation market, as an anecdote from one senior partner at a London disputes practice shows. [Read more…]Industry News
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When: Wednesday, October 22, 2014 to Thursday, October 23, 2014
Where: One King West, Toronto
To Learn more visit: www.CanadianInstitute.com/futureoflaw
The Future of Legal Services in Canada: Trends and Issues – See more at: http://www.cbafutures.org/The-Reports/The-Future-of-Law-Full-Report#sthash.ksulYNNp.dpuf
The Future of Legal Services in Canada: Trends and Issues – See more at: http://www.cbafutures.org/The-Reports/The-Future-of-Law-Full-Report#sthash.ksulYNNp.dpuf