Large Law

A handful of recent surveys calls forth what law firm business development (BD) and marketing professionals already know:  competition is fierce. If there’s an upside to a downturn, it may well rest in an opportunity to secure senior law firm buy-in for IT systems supporting BD and marketing processes, according to Deb Dobson.  The marketing technology manager at Fisher & Phillips ... Read More »

LegalTech New York 2016 is off to a rousing start, with huge crowds filling the hallways, conference sessions and hotel lounges. There are seven key topics of conversation driving the discussions so far: 1. FRCP Rule Changes. The long-discussed changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure have now gone into effect. In the February 2nd keynote panel discussion (“How ... Read More »

“Research has always been central to the attorney’s role, and combing through the large volumes of information that pertains to a case is incredibly time consuming,” according to Olivia Timson, in a piece for The Innovation Enterprise. She also reports another noteworthy business challenge: this is expensive.  She writes, “lawyers and law firms spending around $8.4 billion on it annually ... Read More »

In order to use technology effectively in the courtroom, you’ve got to first understand it, according to several judges presenting the first key note session at the LegalTech® New York conference. The session titled — How is Technology Being Used in Today’s Court Rooms and Cases? — counted a panel of judges from U.S. District Courts, including James C. Francis, Lorenzo F. ... Read More »

A critical way to reduce or maintain eDiscovery costs is to reduce the data for review. The sooner this happens, the better, and earlier insights into data can help drive better litigation strategy decisions.  Every case has a story; find it faster as the graphic below suggests.  PreDiscovery can reduce the documents required for review by as much as 85% and ... Read More »

When the recession of 2007 sent the legal sector reeling there was a tremendous drop in billable hours and a significant loss of legal sector jobs. Following a quarter century of enormous boom in business, law firms were suddenly faced with a retracting market. Competition between law firms grew tremendously, with big law fighting over the same pool of potential clients. More ... Read More »

The LegalTech® New York tradeshow has a notable emphasis on eDiscovery.  Given the growing volume of data managed in the eDiscovery process, analytics, predictive coding and other applications of technology assisted review are a logical fit for a conference centered on legal technology. This blog often covers legal industry surveys and benchmark studies.  In preparation for the show, we went ... Read More »

A growing number of in-house counsel and litigation professionals are driving a change in the conversation about how technology can play the most valuable role in the eDiscovery workflow. “We predict a sea change for litigation technology in 2016 brought about by the emphasis on Early Case Assessment (ECA),” writes Steve Ashbacher, vice president of litigation solutions at LexisNexis, in ... Read More »

Three law firm characteristics drive profitability: behavior, strategy and culture.  This idea is conveyed in a presentation published by the BTI Consulting Group: 8 Habits of Highly Profitable Law Firms. The presentation is this week’s Friday Share.  The eight profitable habits are as follows: 1. Fewer, but Larger Clients. The presentation says that profitable firms have fewer clients, but those clients ... Read More »

“Comfort can breed complacency,” according to Nick Araco, senior director of growth strategies and business development for Drinker, Biddle & Reath. Mr. Araco shared these views during the LexisNexis® Interaction® webinar titled: “Generating Leads and Introductions the Right Way ,” alongside co-presenter, Mo Bunnell, president of Bunnell Idea Group. According to these gentlemen, research shows, people, especially attorneys, tend to ... Read More »