Tipping Point: Transformation and Innovation in the Legal Department

This ARK Group book was just released. I was pleased to be tapped to write a chapter on the specific steps a legal department can take to increase efficiency, predictability and collaboration with outside firms.

Information about purchasing the book can be found here: http://ow.ly/cw5A30o0lN7 

The following is the ARK Group description of the book.

“The contemporary legal landscape is no longer a rigid hierarchy composed of limited and complacent behemoths, but rather an ecosystem, filled with a wide variety of players that facilitate disruption and revolution and jostle for clients’ attention with agility and innovation. This includes – but is certainly not limited to – entities such as technology companies, consultants, alternative legal service providers, and paraprofessionals.

“Law firms are not the only ones in this environment that must adapt or fail; the legal department and in-house counsel, too, must transform in order to remain relevant and competitive.

“The world of the general counsel (GC) has already seen massive shifts – ever-increasing globalization has meant more legal issues and corporate activism, which in turn has generated new challenges and heightened demand. The GC cannot simply act in the role of outsourcer of work to external counsel, as in the past. With the growth of legal departments (it is now not uncommon for legal departments to number in the hundreds or even thousands, often formed of expensive lateral hires) the GC must now wear a number of hats, including that of the “CEO” of their department.

“The introduction of data analysis into the legal space and the oft-repeated mantra of “less with more” has meant that the GC must now think in terms of spend and budget more than ever before, transforming the legal department from a cost-center to a value-add. They must cultivate a breadth and scope of vision, able to organize and lead their department as an innovator. The flourishing legal ops role also provides yet another challenge for the GC. As the incorporation of legal ops within the law department becomes increasingly essential, the GC must work to ensure alignment and manage change.

“The present time has been hailed as the golden age of in-house lawyering, yet – and perhaps because of this – it is an uncertain and challenging time for the GC. Tipping Point: Transformation and Innovation in the Legal Department is intended as a handbook for the GC looking to build a truly modern legal department and revolutionize their role. Encompassing aspects from leveraging influence with the c-suite to reimagining organizational hierarchies and seeking the right operational professional, this publication features contributions from those at the frontiers of the profession as it transforms and embraces new areas of expertise”.

Law Firms that are Leading the Way

More and more corporate legal departments are requiring their outside law firms to adopt legal operations. In fact, every week 10-20 new legal departments join CLOC (Corporate Legal Operations Consortium). This blog highlights two law firms, Baker & McKenzie and Davis Wright Tremaine, that are well entrenched in legal operations and are effectively leading the way for other law firms. Find out how and why here.

LinkedIn: Do I have to? Some Resistance Continues

         Published in JD Supra Perspectives 2017

According to the 2016 American Bar Association Technology Report, “Taking control of your online presence is a necessity, and there are few better ways to do so than social media. Used carefully, social media can give your firm a voice, amplify your professional reputation, and help drive new business.”

Yet many attorneys and other professional service providers continue to avoid this reality. Social media and content marketing are this new reality but excuses and resistance to change still abound. With so many different social media platforms let’s narrow the focus of this conversation to the #1 platform for business – LinkedIn.

Read full article

 

Resistance Continues but the Business of Law is Transforming

                Published in JD Supra Perspectives 2017

“Before you know it, what once seemed like crazy ideas will become the new normal.” ~Mary O’Carroll, head of legal operations, Google.

The Resistance Movement

It has been said that change is the only constant in the world. Nagging realities in the legal marketplace continue to place pressure on law firms, of all sizes, to confront the demand for inevitable changes.

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Are Legal Operations Transitioning the Business of Law?

Stephen Balcomb, Senior Director of Legal Operations at Qualcomm and CLOC member, will be the lead panelist at the July 20th Breakfast Roundtable about Legal Operations. Please join us at 7:30 am at the law firm of Knobbe Martens in Irvine, CA, to explore the inevitable impact of change in the practice of law. Altman Weil’s 2016 Law Firms in Transition reports, “Despite pockets of true innovation, most firms are choosing to proceed with lawyerly caution in the midst of a market that is being reinvented around them.”

 

Additional panelists, roundtable details and registration can be found here.

Corporate Legal Departments Feel Success after Conducting Client Feedback Program

The legal department of a Fortune 500 company was reviewing their legal operations practices and interactions with their internal clients. Under the leadership of  their Senior Vice President and General Counsel, the legal department of 25 attorneys decided to ask their internal clients at the company how their services were being viewed and what could be done to improve upon them.

Complete Article

 

CLOC (Corporate Legal Operations Consortium) Conference Closes

Mary O’Carroll, Head of Legal Operations, Google, posted her closing remarks from the May, 2017 CLOC Conference telling attendees that legal operation changes are happening now.  Law firms need to take head.

Ms. O’Carroll stated, “Today, I’m here to say: We are no longer on the verge of anything. We have arrived”.

Read Ms. O’Carroll’s 2017 Call to Action

You can find her complete 2017 Closing Remarks here: 

 

Corporate Legal Marketing Departments Want This

At the most recent Future’s Conference which took place in the fall of 2016, the College of Law Practice Management prepared sessions that were full of interesting trends and developments which may have a strong impact on the future practice of law.

The on-going discussion about Alternative Fee Arrangements is actually and finally starting to sound like more than talk. Big Law is responding more to the needs so often expressed by legal departments to keep fees predictable and on budget. Continue reading Corporate Legal Marketing Departments Want This