ARTICLES
+1000 Articles on the Business of Law.
Update and refresh your knowledge
Search
By Mark A. Cohen
- Oct 3, 2018
- 7 min
New Skills And Diversity Are Needed For Legal Buyers And Providers In The Digital Age
Last week’s column examined the disconnect between law’s “innovation” fixation and its low customer satisfaction and distribution challenges. Instead of embracing the customer-centricity characteristic of digital transformation companies like Amazon and Apple, most traditional legal providers remain focused on lawyer outcomes, not customers. This includes law firms and many in-house departments that function as captive firms. Customer-centricity-what the client requires and e
By Mark A. Cohen
- Sep 25, 2018
- 6 min
Recommendations for Corporate Legal Buyers and Providers in The Digital Age
Law is struggling to keep pace with the speed of business as well as to satisfy clients. One key reason is that there are too many lawyers involved in legal delivery and too few logistics, supply chain, and management experts, technologists, project managers, data analysts, and other professionals/paraprofessionals. Another is that law conflates acquiescence to client demand with client-centricity. That’s changing but it will take time, cultural evolution, and activism by le
By Mark A. Cohen
- Sep 13, 2018
- 2 min
How Will Legal Education And Training Keep Pace With Change?
Ferris Bueller famously quipped, “Life moves pretty fast.” Imagine what he would say now …The pace of change is accelerating at warp-speed, buoyed by technological advances, communication, and globalism. Dell Technologies authored a report by 20 tech, business and academic experts projecting 85% of jobs that will exist in 2030 have yet to be invented. Dell issued a statement that "The pace of change will be so rapid that people will learn 'in the moment' using new technologie
By Mark A. Cohen
- Aug 31, 2018
- 3 min
Legal Innovation is the Rage, But There's Plenty of Resistance
The staid legal industry is smitten by “innovation,” even as it lacks a common definition how the term applies to legal delivery and education/training. There’s a proliferation of awards, job titles, and conferences devoted to legal innovation. With all the ballyhoo, one would infer that law’s wicked problems—lack of access to affordable legal services and low legal consumer satisfaction, among other challenges-- would be under control. That’s not the case. Why? Short answer
By Mark A. Cohen
- Aug 20, 2018
- 5 min
Time for the legal industry to speak out for the rule of law
The rule of law is under siege and it's incoming on all sides. The judiciary, the Department of Justice, the intelligence community, and the State Department have all been rebuked repeatedly, undermining their legal and moral authorities. Our electoral process has been compromised and efforts to investigate the culprits, circumstances, and motives of the perpetrators have been resisted even as the intelligence community is in unanimous agreement that all signs point to Russia
By Mark A. Cohen
- Aug 17, 2018
- 7 min
Money Makes the World Go Around-Why Capital Is Changing Law
Anyone who has seen the film Cabaret or heard the soundtrack will remember Liza Minnelli’s ode to the power of money: Money makes the world go around The world go around The world go around …A mark, a yen, a buck, or a pound…Is all that makes the world go around…. Money’s role has hardly diminished since Weimar Germany. If anything, financiers’ influence-and the power of money- has expanded during the intervening decades. Capital is the engine that drives most industries. Why
By Mark A. Cohen
- Jul 20, 2018
- 6 min
When the Numbers Don't Add Up: Vermont Law School's Tenured Faculty Purge and What It Porten
Vermont Law School (Vermont) recently announced it had issued pink slips to 14 of its 19 tenured faculty members. This is not the first time a law school has terminated tenured professors for something other than sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. Albany Law School, Charleston Law, and others have traveled that road, and several other law schools have shuttered. Vermont’s wholesale decimation of its tenured faculty is something different-- a clarion call to the legal Academy that i
By Mark A. Cohen
- Jul 13, 2018
- 6 min
Lawyers and Accountants: Collaborators and Competitors in the Multidisciplinary Age
Lawyers and accountants are professional allies, but who controls integration and delivery of their services is another story. A recent speech to a global network of lawyers and accountants highlighted the curious relationship they share. Lawyers and accountants are simultaneously collaborators and competitors. The paradox is reconciled by separating the professional and business/organizational elements of their dynamic. Lawyers and accountants share several common challenges
Zylab
- Jul 7, 2018
- 2 min
TAKE AWAYS FROM THE LEGAL CONFEX: STAYING UP TO DATE AS NEW RESPONSIBILITY
Last week’s Legal ConFex in New York brought together In-house Counsel, Law Firm Partners, Legal Tech Vendors and Service Providers to discuss todays’ challenges in litigation, new regulations, eDiscovery, technology and software. In the opening keynote “Artificial Intelligence & Digital Technology” – The Drivers for Change”, Michael Miller, President of the New York State Bar Association, addressed the obligation of legal professionals to stay up to date about technological
By Mark A. Cohen
- Jul 3, 2018
- 6 min
Too Many Legal Awards -- Too Little Customer Satisfaction
Law is staging its own version of “every kid gets a trophy.” Its award season is longer than baseball’s, and the list of award categories rivals the Oscars. Every week, all over the globe, the legal industry throws gala dinners to celebrate its “innovators,” “visionaries,” and “pioneers.” These gatherings afford attendees a chance to dress up, schmooze with peers, feel important, and convince themselves that their industry is performing splendidly. Legal providers are hearin
By Mark A. Cohen
- Jun 26, 2018
- 7 min
Legal Delivery at The Speed of Business — And Why It Matters
“Time is Money” wrote Benjamin Franklin in a 1748 essay titled Advice to a Young Tradesman. Franklin was a polymath—scientist, statesman, publisher, inventor and diplomat. Is it coincidence that he was almost everything except an attorney? Lawyers have a different take on time than other industries. The legal profession uses it as a price gauge—more is better. Lawyers rationalize excessive time as ‘attention to detail’-- and justification for a larger bill. The profession re
By Mark A. Cohen
- Jun 14, 2018
- 7 min
Milbank and Weil Make Headlines; UnitedLex, Dentons, and Deloitte Make Waves
Big announcements by UnitedLex, Dentons, and Deloitte are getting drowned out by the noise of salary increases for associates. Milbank Tweed created an industry-wide stir when it announced recently a bump in first-year associate salary to $190K per year. The firm will also award $10K-$15K raises to incumbent associates. This comes at a time when many clients are openly revolting against the use of high-priced, inexperienced associates. Mark Smolik, the general counsel of DHL
By Katja Fahrendholz
- Jun 7, 2018
- 3 min
wenigermiete.de – securing legal rights for German tenants
Who is wenigermiete.de and what is the idea behind it? Wenigermiete.de founded was by the German lawyers Dr. Frederik Gärtner, Exec. Dipl. HSG and Dr. Daniel Halmer, Dipl.-Kfm. in 2016. The startup with a team of lawyers, legal assistants and developers is based in Berlin. Our objective is to secure legal rights for tenants. The housing market in German cities such as Berlin, Hamburg or Munich is dealing with shortages of affordable flats. This leads not only to an increase o
Zylab
- May 31, 2018
- 2 min
Reducing your Legal Fees
eDiscovery is unpredictable, disruptive, and stressful. It also is the most expensive part of litigation. And required IT resources and litigation budgets are impossible to plan. The high costs of eDiscovery are incurred over the whole process. So, even if you do not want to bring the entire eDiscovery process in-house, you can still save tremendously by doing parts of it in-house. Collection & Processing Many corporations still provide unprocessed and pre-culled content to t
By Mark A. Cohen
- May 22, 2018
- 6 min
Innovation Is Law's New Game, But Wicked Problems Remain
‘Legal innovation’ is no longer an oxymoron. The staid, precedent bound, legal guild is slowly morphing into something different. The contours of the new legal order are still being shaped and the dominant players have yet to emerge. Even confirmed industry Luddites concede the legal profession/industry is changing. Many lawyers, to borrow from T.S. Eliot’s Journey of the Magi, are “no longer at ease in the old dispensation.” That’s the good news for those in need of legal s
By Mark A. Cohen
- May 17, 2018
- 7 min
Legal Operations is Hot. But Legal Culture is Lukewarm Toward It
Legal operations (legal ops) is a hot topic these days. The Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) recently held its annual jamboree in Las Vegas, drawing approximately two thousand acolytes from around the world. That was twice the prior year’s turnout and indicative of the buzz that the organization—and legal operations generally—is generating. The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) also has an active legal ops membership. Both CLOC and ACC Legal Ops have created
by Michiel Rohlof
- May 11, 2018
- 8 min
Growth symbolises the rise of alternative legal service providers
Legadex: ten years and counting | An interview with (from left to right) Frederike Sips, Luc van Daele and Hans-Martijn Roos of Legadex Legal service provider Legadex is celebrating its ten-year anniversary this year. That makes it a young company compared with the multinationals and law firms it serves, but in the world of alternative legal service providers it's a veteran and pioneer. Since the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the 2008 banking crisis, there has been a real s
By Editorial Department
- May 3, 2018
- 3 min
Watch the Legal Innovation Summit Beyond our Borders (Chicago)
Beyond our Borders is a Legal Innovation Summit, hosted by Northwestern University | Pritzker School of Law in Chicago. Thought Leaders from all over the world shared information and knowledge on several topics. Click the banner and watch the Live stream Or watch the live registration of these two day's below Day One Day Two Day 1. Thursday, May 3, 2018 9:00 – 9:30 a.m. Opening Remarks
Mark Cohen, CEO, Legal Mosaic and Distinguished Fellow, Center for Practice Engagement and
By Mark A. Cohen
- Apr 18, 2018
- 6 min
Procurement and The New Legal Buy/Sell Dynamic
Procurement's expanding role in the legal industry is changing the way legal services are bought and sold. Procurement is changing the legal industry. It is driving another nail into the legal guild’scoffin by altering the long-standing practice of lawyers selling corporate legal services to lawyers. This is not simply a change in the corporate legal buy/sell dynamic; it is compelling evidence that law is not solely about lawyers anymore. The myth of lawyer exceptionalism has
{"items":["5f200783cdc0ea0017b700d5","5f200783a672af0017cda58e","5f200783626bcd001809180a","5f2007847f62b3001703ba4d","5f200784374b8600179ae90a","5f20078553478f0018701e8b","5f2007855f4e8700175d2d65","5f20078648912800173a6312","5f200785d755500017ece720","5f2007867f62b3001703ba52","5f20078684ace6001798a34b","5f20078669980f00179ddf1b","5f2007872ecf2f0017b43f86","5f20078792b0010017865854","5f200787d63a75001786d56d","5f20078797a17c0017c635d5","5f2007879347d70017ab4171","5f200787a468a50017a70f6b","5f20078869980f00179ddf1c","5f20078955ba0500173864f7"],"styles":{"galleryType":"Columns","groupSize":1,"showArrows":true,"cubeImages":true,"cubeType":"fill","cubeRatio":0.75,"isVertical":true,"gallerySize":30,"collageAmount":0,"collageDensity":0,"groupTypes":"1","oneRow":false,"imageMargin":10,"galleryMargin":0,"scatter":0,"rotatingScatter":"","chooseBestGroup":true,"smartCrop":false,"hasThumbnails":false,"enableScroll":true,"isGrid":true,"isSlider":false,"isColumns":false,"isSlideshow":false,"cropOnlyFill":false,"fixedColumns":0,"enableInfiniteScroll":true,"isRTL":false,"minItemSize":50,"rotatingGroupTypes":"","rotatingCropRatios":"","columnWidths":"","gallerySliderImageRatio":1.7777777777777777,"numberOfImagesPerRow":3,"numberOfImagesPerCol":1,"groupsPerStrip":0,"borderRadius":0,"boxShadow":0,"gridStyle":0,"mobilePanorama":false,"placeGroupsLtr":true,"viewMode":"preview","thumbnailSpacings":4,"galleryThumbnailsAlignment":"bottom","isMasonry":false,"isAutoSlideshow":false,"slideshowLoop":false,"autoSlideshowInterval":4,"bottomInfoHeight":0,"titlePlacement":"SHOW_BELOW","galleryTextAlign":"center","scrollSnap":false,"itemClick":"nothing","fullscreen":true,"videoPlay":"hover","scrollAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","slideAnimation":"SCROLL","scrollDirection":0,"scrollDuration":400,"overlayAnimation":"FADE_IN","arrowsPosition":0,"arrowsSize":23,"watermarkOpacity":40,"watermarkSize":40,"useWatermark":true,"watermarkDock":{"top":"auto","left":"auto","right":0,"bottom":0,"transform":"translate3d(0,0,0)"},"loadMoreAmount":"all","defaultShowInfoExpand":1,"allowLinkExpand":true,"expandInfoPosition":0,"allowFullscreenExpand":true,"fullscreenLoop":false,"galleryAlignExpand":"left","addToCartBorderWidth":1,"addToCartButtonText":"","slideshowInfoSize":200,"playButtonForAutoSlideShow":false,"allowSlideshowCounter":false,"hoveringBehaviour":"NEVER_SHOW","thumbnailSize":120,"magicLayoutSeed":1,"imageHoverAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","imagePlacementAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","calculateTextBoxWidthMode":"PERCENT","textBoxHeight":300,"textBoxWidth":200,"textBoxWidthPercent":50,"textImageSpace":10,"textBoxBorderRadius":0,"textBoxBorderWidth":0,"loadMoreButtonText":"","loadMoreButtonBorderWidth":1,"loadMoreButtonBorderRadius":0,"imageInfoType":"ATTACHED_BACKGROUND","itemBorderWidth":1,"itemBorderRadius":0,"itemEnableShadow":false,"itemShadowBlur":20,"itemShadowDirection":135,"itemShadowSize":10,"imageLoadingMode":"BLUR","expandAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","imageQuality":90,"usmToggle":false,"usm_a":0,"usm_r":0,"usm_t":0,"videoSound":false,"videoSpeed":"1","videoLoop":true,"jsonStyleParams":"","gallerySizeType":"px","gallerySizePx":292,"allowTitle":true,"allowContextMenu":true,"textsHorizontalPadding":-30,"itemBorderColor":{"value":"rgba(138,138,138,1)"},"showVideoPlayButton":true,"galleryLayout":2,"calculateTextBoxHeightMode":"MANUAL","textsVerticalPadding":-15,"targetItemSize":292,"selectedLayout":"2|bottom|1|fill|true|0|true","layoutsVersion":2,"selectedLayoutV2":2,"isSlideshowFont":true,"externalInfoHeight":300,"externalInfoWidth":0},"container":{"width":1,"galleryWidth":11,"galleryHeight":0,"scrollBase":0,"height":null}}
