Education for 21 st Century Law Practice The Law Firm as a Factory for Producing Legal Services Florida Coastal School of Law
What do these organizations have in common? World Class Hotel Chain World Class Hospital World Class Law Firm
Commonalities Consistent Quality Every Time Processes in Place that Eliminate Waste and Cost Processes That Are Designed to Continually Improve Output Feedback Loops A Culture of Innovation Say Yes Not No!
Trends in the Legal Industry Commoditization and Standardization Change in Business Model Solution Shop to Value-Chain Business Model Lean Lawyering The Internet is becoming the new platform for the delivery of legal services. Consumers and small business want legal services that re faster, more convenient, and less expensive. Consumers and small business want fixed fee, limited legal services.
Business Model Innovation Two Kinds of Business Models: law practice today o Solution-Shop - Law Firms Problem solving Every problem is unique Based on information asymmetry Command of a specialized technology Fee for services. Cost is no object. Based on Expertise Experts/people are the primary resource. o Value-Chain like a factory.
Value- Chain Business Model- A Law Factory Value Proposition + resources+ processes + profit formula. Transformation of inputs into products Value proposition = cheaper, better, faster o Resources, processes and profit formula support the value proposition.
Different Markets Require Different Models Corporations and individuals have different needs when it comes to legal services. Law firm s as solution shop providers have real difficulty moving down market to serve consumers. When law firm s employ limited legal services methods, combined with technology and the effective use of paralegals. Combined with process engineering technologies such as legal project management that can create a new value proposition that delivers legal services better, faster, and cheaper.
Law School Education Law schools teach students exclusively to work in a solution shop environment. This works if you are going to be employed in a large law firm serving corporate clients. If you are going into solo to small law firm practice, consumers and small business the training and education requirements are different. If law students are not taught how to serve this marketplace with value chain solutions they will loose out to providers like LegalZoom who know how to serve this marketplace.
Solo and Small Law Firm Practice Evolving towards the Value-Chain Business Model So are some large law firms Requires different skills sets Disconnect in legal education: Training for the wrong marketplace except top tier law schools
What do we mean by a Value Chain Model Law? Lower your overhead - whether you re in-house or in private practice improve turnaround times increase client satisfaction (internal or external) price more accurately free up limited resources for other valuable work
Lean Law: -- Value Criteria does your work move the matter forward? is it what the client wants and is willing to pay for? is your work done right the first time? Is the quality of your work consistent over time? Anything that doesn t add value is waste?
Attorneys as Project Managers I didn t go to law school to be a project manager. Except you a project manager anyway. Every legal matter is a project. Commonsense approach to managing work flow used by every other business.
Why Process Management Technologies? Help you better control or understand the cost. Control of predict the time spent, both cumulative time (hours) and running time (start to finish). Be better prepared for events, especially unplanned events. Engage the most appropriate resources to do the work bested suited to them. o o o Out-source? Paralegal? Junior Associate Improve communication with the client.
Doing Legal Work If you can t break down a legal matter into tasks, deadlines, costs, people, etc., you really don t know what you are doing.
Analogy Think of what it takes to build a house. Think of the estimates that the subcontractors make. Think what happens if a subcontractor misses a deadline or under estimates the budget. If a general contractor can build a $5,000,000 a house and bring it on budget and on time, why can t a lawyer estimate how much a legal project will take to complete even assuming that certain risks are unknown. Risks are always built into the project for building a house.
Framework Not about the practice of law, but the mechanics of practice. The law per se is not a business, but the practice of law is. Law firms exist to make a profit Even the practice of Public interest law requires that cases be managed with budget and time constraints and be completed.
Project Management Analyze Tasks Steps to Take Determine Time Requirements Create Deadlines Determine who is assigned to which task. Staffing the Steps Determine cost parameters. Create a budget. Link budget to tasks and deadlines. Communications What s likely to go wrong build in risks.
Process Maps
Metrics Client Satisfaction Adherence to Deadlines Workload (hours) Adding Business Value Client Retention Renewal Business Consistent Quality No Matter What The Deal.
Fixed Fee Practice You need to know your costs; You need to determine in advance who will do the work; You need to know how long it will take to do each tasks.
Skills Necessary Project Management Knowledge of Smart Technologies Outsourcing and Management of Paralegals Design of Limited Legal Services Web Development Skills and Virtual Law Firm Technologies Mobile Technologies Fixed fee and pricing strategies Law Practice Technologies
Tomorrow s Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future by Richard Susskind
Susskind s Disruptive Technologies Automated Document Assembly Relentless connectivity- Mobile The electronic legal marketplace Online Legal Guide Legal Open Sourcing Workflow and Legal Project Management Embedded Legal Knowledge: Expert Systems Ediscovery Management Online Dispute Settlement
Certificate in Law Practice Technology and Management at Florida Coastal School of Law COURSE IN LAW PRACTICE TECHNOLOGY AND LAW PRACTICE MANAGEMENT (3 CREDITS). At least 10 one credit electives. Modular approach Career-oriented. On-line Interactive National faculty -- major thought leaders. Advisory Board
Law School Program Based on Tomorrow s Lawyers 1. Training Lawyers as Entrepreneurs (1 credit) 2. Ethics of Online Legal Services (1 credit) 3. Social Media in Law Practice (1 credit) 4. Document Automation Applications (2 credits) 5. Legal Project Management (1 credit) 7. Legal Process Outsourcing (1 credit)
Elective courses ( 1 credit each) 7.. Legal Expert Systems (2 credits) 8. ediscovery Management (1 credit) 9. Legal Process Re-Design Technology (Lean Engineering) (1 credit) 10. Access to Justice and Legal Technology (1 credit) 11. Law Practice Technology and Management (3 credits)
Research and Development: How our technologies support the delivery of online legal services Web Legal Advisors Smart Legal Documents Legal Expert Systems Workflow Design. Legal Process Engineering Web delivery workflow GUI Usage Interface Visualization Big Data Mobile technologies
Training in Legal Technology Specialties equals New Careers Legal Processing Engineering Virtual Lawyering Law Practice Management ediscovery and Document Management Predictive Coding Document Automation Expert Legal System Development Legal IT Management Legal Outsourcing Management
Dedicated Educational Site from Florida Coastal School of Law www.digital-lawyer.com