Here’s part of this interesting article talking about how things really are changing at this juncture
Above the Law Reports……..
So what does this all mean for lawyers of my generation? First, we need to realize that this time, change is coming. I’ve been through enough fake revolutions to know that this is the real deal. Second, if we don’t jump on this train now, we’ll be left behind, chasing the future after it’s too late to catch up. Maybe we’re too old to drive, but we’ve still got the skills to help navigate and steer through the thicket of regulation and old school thinking that stand as obstacles to a path forward.
Third, though we older lawyers can contribute to change in the law, we can’t wait for an invitation either. Maybe that’s how it worked in the old days when experience and gravitas earned an older lawyer a place on a committee. These days, we’ve got to push our way in or at least join the party without expecting a special invite.
Fourth, even if you are progressive older lawyer — say, an early adopter (as I considered myself) — someone who coded in Fortran or used Slashcode to build your first blog or started a virtual law firm back in 2001 — not relevant now. New technology, new business models and new ways of thinking mean that the tools you once used don’t work any more, and many of the systems that failed because they were before their time may be wildly successful the second time around.
Finally, older lawyers need to realize that change is never going to come from the bar association and the pallid recommendations from The Commission on Future of Legal Services. Change demands new fora where we can dream and build systems, not make proposals that will suffocate in a grueling death-by-7-year-committee.
TBD Law is one of those platforms. I’ve spent the past two days engaged in discussion with other lawyers and legal technologists about form automation, different tiers of service delivery (fully automated, form completion by paralegals and legal review), development of work flow charts that could be used to create new automated systems, and different law firm models, such as one comprised of new parents working flex time or a co-op for solo start ups who, as part of their package, could have access to associate support and could defray the cost of space by spending hours in a legal clinic or beta testing for legal tech companies. Over the year, other ideas may emerge at TBD, or other fora for discussion may emerge, but at least the conversation is moving forward in places that aren’t (pricey) membership only.
For my colleagues who complain about “what the profession is coming to,” bemoan the deterioration of the practice of law from noble calling to base business opportunity, who criticize document providers like Legal Zoom as a danger and threat to consumers (but sure aren’t willing to draft those contracts for $99) and who don’t believe that good lawyers will ever be replaced, you are missing out. The legal profession has never been a more dynamic and exciting place, where technology and changing public perceptions has transformed the goal of access to justice and faster, better and cheaper service for all clients from asymptotic quests to achievable, albeit still-distant goals. In short, what we dreamed of when we went to law school may become a reality in our lifetimes.
To my older colleagues, I say this: barricade yourself in your fancy law offices guarded by the bar associations, spend the rest of your days in endless committee meetings. As for me, I’m taking to the streets, running as fast as I can to catch the future of law. Who’s in?
