Stephen P. Gallagher, President,
Leadershipcoach.us
Legal
services are no longer being designed, priced and offered to the public
based on what the profession deems suitable or appropriate. "Quality" or "value" in the mind of your customer or client
is different – sometimes
radically so – from the way
that you perceived “quality” or “value” with respect to the same
product or service. Demand for legal services are now based on
what the consumer of legal services wants and is willing to pay.
In
these times when most companies are experimenting with new procedures,
inventing and testing new technologies to satisfy customer demands, to
enter new markets, and to gain an advantage over competition, law firms
are being forced to, "avoid the mistakes of looking for the seeds
of tomorrow in yesterday's fields."
[i]
We must put aside “Old World” thinking and compete according to
totally new rules in order to deliver a broader range of services.
Consumers of legal services have the opportunity to shop among the
various professions for many of the services that have traditionally
been provided by attorneys. Many people believe that even today's most
successful companies will not be able to survive if they are relying on
established and proven actions. To make money in the emerging networked
economy, law firms will need to try new things, to "explore"
new possibilities. This means experimenting with new procedures, hiring
people with different skills, and inventing and testing new
technologies.
Lawyers
who have the ability to respond efficiently and effortlessly using
computer technology have a distinct advantage over the more traditional
ways we have practiced in the past.
For example, the ability to communicate with clients by email,
especially in different time zones or on time sensitive matters, or to
share drafts of agreements with clients and opposing counsel, or close
on transactions are just three ways we use the computer on a daily
basis. Similarly, computer-signatures, facsimile machines, and
e-filing court papers online, provide lawyers with real advantages over
the “smailmail” methods of the 80’s and 90’s and clients have
come to expect quicker turnaround time on their matters, increased
responsiveness. As Courts continue to adopt (as the Commercial Division,
Bankruptcy Courts and the Second Circuit already have) the means to use
technology for court filings, argument (brief citations), and the like,
it is plain that those lawyers who keep pace will also achieve greater
success. A good example
nowadays is that courts have also begun accepting proposed jury
instructions and void dire of juries by diskette.
These technological advancements make it imperative for lawyers
to learn to adopt technology to suit their individual practice needs and
hopefully, also find cheaper, easier ways of communicating not only with
clients but also those who most influence the course of transactions,
litigation and business.
The
Internet economy is creating unprecedented opportunity for lawyers who
are able to transition to creating entirely new products and services,
and those law firms that can adapt to this new logic of digital business
will survive. Research on creative output shows that creativity is
largely a function of sheer quantity. [ii]
Stanford professor, Robert Sutton demonstrates that it is impossible to generate a few good ideas without generating a lot of
bad ideas. To encourage people to keep generating new ideas, to test
them in unbiased ways, and to avoid reverting to proven ideas and
well-honed skills, rewarding success isn’t enough. You have to reward
failure as well.”[iii]
The
Emergence of Online "Marketspace"
The
Internet, technology, and globalization are merging together to create a
new economy. The old economy had been built on the logic of managing
manufacturing industries, and the new economy is built on the logic of
managing information, and information systems. Digital technologies are
drastically changing this information and power balance. More service
providers are participating in the Internet marketspace because the cost
of entry is so low. The Internet has given new capabilities to both
consumers and producers. One of today’s major economic problems is
overcapacity, which leads to hypercompetition by clients, with too many
lawyers chasing too few clients. Clients are scarce, not service
providers. Demand not supply of lawyers is the problem.
Previously,
companies were able to act as the hunter searching for customers; now
consumers are assuming the role as the hunter. The consumer informs the
company of his specific requirements, purposes, the price he will pay,
estimates how he wants to receive the goods, and decides whether he will
give permission to receive company information and advertising. In this
new economy, marketing is fundamentally reversed from finding customers
for products to finding products for customers.
Richard
Susskind, author of The Future of
Law, and Transforming the Law:
Essays on Technology, Justice and the Legal Marketplace predicts
that, "By the year 2015, the main
way in which legal services will be delivered across the world will
be through access to online legal services as opposed to consultation
with human lawyers."[iv]
You might want to challenge Susskind's vision for the future of law, but
there should be little argument over Susskind's ‘latent legal market,'
which he describes as the market that will emerge when conventional
legal services are not affordable, practicable, or accessible. Online
legal services will begin to fill this void. According to Susskind,
"The test often is not whether online legal service is better than
a human lawyer, but whether or not online legal service is better than
nothing at all."[v]
How
Does One Get Started?
In this emerging networked
economy, it is human attention rather than physical resources that are
becoming scarce, so creating client value will be far more important
than marketing existing products and services. For many young people,
access is already a way of life, and many of them are already using
emerging technologies to create their own communities of shared
interest.”[vi]
It stands to reason that young people are far more comfortable
conducting business and engaging in social activity in the worlds of
electronic commerce and cyberspace, but there is no reason that everyone
cannot learn to be comfortable and productive in this emerging networked
economy.
The
Internet is in the process of transforming every economic and social
institution, and mastering this new business community will force people
to develop new skills and competencies. Rather than using the Internet
to merely convey information, NYSBA’s Law Practice Management
Committee is now exploring how connecting individuals into temporary
alliances can create greater knowledge -- greater value for all parties
on the network. The committee believes that participants in this interactive
community will quickly come to realize that individual community
members will be able to realize a much broader range of benefits than
previously available.
Challenge
Yourself to Get Started:
The electronic version of this article appears on the NYSBA web site at
----------------------------------------------------------. It will be
much easier utilizing the online version of this article to access the
referenced sites. Good luck with these challenges and remember that it
is all right to make mistakes.
1.
The first challenge in
joining any online community
is to become comfortable in accessing the community. Let's assume you
have already purchased a computer and you have access to the web. You
then need to use your web browser to get to the NYSBA home page at www.nysba.org
.As a member of NYSBA you will find a wealth of information and services
in the members-only area of the web site . In order to access these
special features, you have to join the community.
In speaking with people who are logging in through their My
NYSBA account, people are finding the "CLE Credit Tracker" of
particular value. Not only goes the web site show you the number of MCLE
credits you have accumulated through NYSBA, but you are able to add CLE
credits you may have taken elsewhere. The other area of MY NYSBA that
people are discovering is the "My Purchases" area. This is
where online purchases including e-learning programs will appear.
So, click on
at the top
left side of the page to create your user profile. You will need your
User Name and Password to enter this area, but as long as you have your
e-mail address, the Login Help can be used to obtain your User
Name and Password. Update your profile to make sure we have your
preferred address on file. Make sure your e-mail is correct, because as
we add services to this electronic community, e-mail will become our
primary means of keeping in touch with you.
2.
Another small community that has emerged is LPM Committee,
which has recently published its first quarterly newsletter
"Practice Management Forum." This publication is designed to
help lawyers who are responsible for managing other lawyers. This new
leadership newsletter is an important part of the LPM online community,
so an e-version of the newsletter is also available. If interested in
signing-up to receive this newsletter, go to www.lpmforum.com
to subscribe. There is no charge for "Practice Management
Forum."
3.
Your next challenge is to answer a ten-question survey found in
the law practice management community. The survey asks about your views
on leadership styles. This survey can be found in the “What Do You
Think Area?” of the www.lpmforum.com
web site.
4.
The
New York State Bar Association has
formed an alliance with Harvard University Business School Publishing to
provide www.LPMforum.com visitors
with a 10%
discount to HBSP publications if purchase is made through the
online community web site. According to Jon Dorf, chair of the Law
Practice Management Committee, “This online
community is more than just a web site, a database, or a collection of
best practice. We are hoping to build a central place on the web where
lawyers can come together to exchange ideas regarding leadership and
firm management.” According to Mr. Dorf, “The relationship with
Harvard is only the beginning of our efforts in building a virtual
library for the www.LPMForum.com
community. We have added links to other management libraries such as
articles from Altman Weil, one of the nations largest legal consulting
practices and we are currently speaking with other legal publishers to
gain access to their materials. One of the books we have highlighted is Competing
for the Future by Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad.
If you are interested in finding out, "What is Happening to
Your World?" this is must reading.
5.
All content added to the LPM community comes directly from
community members. The "911 Tribute" found on the www.LPMForum.com
web site is a great example of how members of a community create
content. We invited Leona Beane, Esq., a member of the General Practice,
Solo & Small Firm Section to share her experiences in living and
working in the downtown area of New York over the past year. As we
approached the first anniversary of 911, several online community
members expressed an interest in knowing more about the recovery
efforts, and Leona invested the time to revisit many of the sites to
give the community an accurate update. Please feel free to visit the
community's creation.
6.
When visiting the www.LPMForum.com
online community, there are
several unique features built into the community to help visitors get to
know community members.
This
is an area that can be accessed from the blue toolbar across the top of
the page. As is the case with any neighborhood, people are joining the
neighborhood all the time. Our plans in building a neighborhood are to
help people “meet” people in the community. The neighborhood
contains brief bios, pictures of individuals, their families and in
several cases, you should be able to see what your neighbors consider of
greatest value in their lives. We invite you to join this community by
e-mailing sgallagher@nysba.org
a brief bio that tells us something about your areas of interest and
about yourself. We encourage you to send an electronic picture of
yourself. Keep in mind, as we build this online
community, that this is a public web site.
7.
.
This
area is designed to direct visitors to areas of particular interest to
community members. One of the Featured Resources we started with was a
meeting at Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, where we captured a
presentation by Peter Martin, Professor of Law at Cornell, and director
of the Cornell’s Legal Information Institute. Peter’s analysis of
the changes taking place in the profession as a result of emerging
technologies is well worth examination. NYSBA co-sponsors Cornell’s
LIIBULLETIN-NY, which is a news alert e-mail service that distributes
alerts for all decisions of the New York State Court of Appeals.
8.
The
Interactive community link is the area where community members can pose
questions and share ideas. We have started with a discussion for
“Legal Software” and a separate discussion area we call “Coaches
Forum.” We have posted the ABA Task Force on the Model Definition of
the Practice of Law’s initial draft definition in “Coaches
Corner,” www.lpmforum.com
. Feel free to contribute to these discussions at http://lpmforum.com/discussion-boards.html.
After registering as a community member, you can create your own topics.
Several community members have agreed to stimulate discussion in
this online community, so it
is worth visiting on a regular basic.
9.
This
is an area for community members to find out about free e-newsletters
and e-mail alert services. We are trying to bring together any
e-newsletter service that may help lawyers in managing their practice.
We have started with a popular wEbrief, from the NYSBA General Practice
Section. This monthly e-newsletter is a collection of web sites brought
together by several General Practice Section members. Other e-alert
services come from Cornell Law School, Harvard Business School and the
Law Librarian Research Xchange (LLRX). New E-Alerts will be added as
community members discover new ones.
10.
This
area contains links to many web sites that may help lawyers in managing
the law practice. We are also including sites that may also prove to be
of interest to your clients. An example of the resources in this area
includes http://www.CEOexpress.com
- Connecting busy executives to information that matters. Check out the
"LawyerExpress" http://www.lawyerexpress.com/
under their "Express Networks."
Final
Thoughts
With the emergence of
the Internet, a key question that lawyers are being asked to address is
whether or not the human service that lawyers have traditionally offered
adds value or contributes benefit beyond that which can be delivered by
an Internet-based service. According to Richard Susskind, “If no such
value can be added, then intermediaries will, sooner or later, become disintermediated, that is, removed from the information chain in
which they work.” If clients can obtain a cheaper, quicker, better, or
more convenient service through the Internet, then lawyers may find
their traditional work to be under threat. [vii]
Susskind further believes that the delivery of legal guidance through
direct consultation with online legal services is not a refinement or
tweak of the traditional model. It is a fundamentally new way of
imparting legal help, and it would be short-sighted for lawyers to
reject out of hand the possibility of delivering, at least, information
services to enhance the delivery of legal services.
Special
thanks to the following members for their assistance:
Justin L. Vigdor,
Rochester
Deborah L. Kelly, Albany
Bernice K.
Leber, New York
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