P2P

62 P E E R T O P E E R : I L T A ' S Q U A R T E R L Y M A G A Z I N E | W I N T E R 2 0 2 0 • How is IT helping transform the legal industry? First things first – How did we get from one person standing up to speak for someone else 2,000 years ago, to nearly 1.5 million attorneys in the United States alone, representing hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees? The short story is where there are people, there are disputes and injuries suffered, inequities and rules broken. Historically, people who were good at advocating, developed services to help resolve the conflicts and money was collected for those services, and charlatans took advantage. Societies and governments built frameworks around those services to ensure order, and an amazingly bureaucratic structure that is the legal industry emerged. In ancient Greece, "orators" would often plead the case of a "friend". They were not allowed to take a fee for their service. In Rome, Emperor Claudius legalized the legal profession and even allowed lawyers to charge a limited fee. Roman laws became more precise, there was an entire class of people who focused on just studying and understanding the law. What is now a law "firm" with its seniority-based hierarchy, can trace its structure back to medieval guilds and their system of apprenticeship. These first firms were half-way between trade unions and secret societies. The first law firms dealt with upper classes in Europe and served the church and its laws. Many formalities (wigs and robes etc.) came from this era. Lawyers developed negative reputations because of excessive litigation due to incompetence or misconduct. There was little trust, so tight regulation was needed. Some of the American colonies outlawed lawyers, and where lawyers were allowed to practice, they were tightly regulated and allowed to charge only a small fee. Things improved with more structure. 25 of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence were lawyers. Lawyers trained in courts, bars were established, education was formalized. In 1850s, many small law schools were established by lawyers. In the 1900s, the billable hour arose and bar associations gained more power. While some small boutique firms still exist, the global law firm rose to prominence with prestige associated with being in the Global 100 list and the AMLAW 15, 100 and 200. What is a "Practice" of Law? There are a variety of legal systems that have developed through the world: • Common law - law established by past court decisions, which become precedents that are relied on. • Civil law – arising from the Roman legal tradition, a set of core principles in a code that act as the primary source of law. • Statutory law - law written by the government or body of legislature. • Religious Law - sacred law of different religions, based on their belief systems In the United States, the main focus is common law and statutory law, with a few jurisdictions centered around civil law. In addition, there is administrative law - regulations from government agencies; constitutional law - interpretation and application of the U.S. Constitution; and criminal law - laws that protect public welfare. As laws and the legal industry developed, more focused areas (practices) of law emerged. There are many, not always easy to distinguish!! Your law firm may be a general practice that covers many of these, or may specialize in one or a few. The culture of the firm develops around the practices. A firm that focuses on helping corporations do business is doing completely different work than one that deals with divorces or one that defends insurance litigation. Understanding the practices of your firm can really help in advising on and supporting the technologies that are needed for that work. • Arbitration - resolving civil and commercial disputes outside of court • Aviation Law • Banking and Finance Law • Clinical Negligence Law • Competition Law - intended to prevent anti-competitive behavior in the market • Construction Law A S K I N G T H E R I G H T Q U E S T I O N S

• Cover