publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/550988
ILTA WHITE PAPER: JULY 2015 WWW.ILTANET.ORG 34 SURVIVING DISRUPTION: KM'S ROLE IN THE FUTURE LAW FIRM While we have not yet witnessed major disruptive startups in the law firm space, the legal profession is watching entrants like global firm Axiom Law and Canadian firm Cognition LLP, which offer value-based billing and flexible staffing solutions. Toronto-based Conduit Law, which launched in 2012 (with Axiom Law as its model), aims to do middle-tier work more efficiently with its lawyers working as part-time, in-house counsel with clients, which allows them to learn the client's business from the inside. Conduit's clients pay a fixed price and can adjust the firm's invoices to reflect their opinion of value received. With only 13 lawyers, Conduit was shortlisted in the Financial Times North America's Innovative Firms awards. An early resolution services sector is also emerging to provide accessible justice services to individual clients for resolving common legal problems before they need courts or tribunals. Still, established models persist, and the leading firms remain steeped in tradition. Changing Client Demands: Corporate counsel are taking more control over the legal process from end to end, retaining alternative legal service providers as part of the mix. While the long-forecasted death of the billable hour has yet to fully materialize, large law firms are buckling to increased pressure for lower fees, with most now providing discounts, fixed fees, value-based billing and other alternative arrangements for some projects. Firms that have Advances in Technology and Computer Learning Systems: Tomorrow's technology is on the horizon, and developments in computer learning technologies already are entering the legal space. In the early stages of commercialization, the legal research tool ROSS is built on IBM's cognitive computer Watson. Apple and Google are also pursuing legal technologies. Tom Clay predicts that, "Within a year, somebody will have purchased Watson in an Am Law firm. … It is going to have a huge impact on the profession." Anticipating the cost to law firms to fall precipitously in the coming years, Clay sees Watson as becoming particularly useful in document management, litigation and e-discovery. abandoned the hourly billing paradigm entirely for value-based billing are on the periphery for the time being. Client service demands increasingly parallel market trends, and large corporations assess their law firms not only compared to other law firms, but also to other professional services and suppliers. According to the recently published Canadian Bar Association report Futures: Transforming the Delivery of Legal Services in Canada, clients are asking for: • Lower costs and cost certainty (value and predictability) • Clearer information about the process and the use of familiar technology and processes (clarity, transparency and familiarity) • Results (competence and experience) • Involvement (participation in the process) • Respect (a mutual partnership rather than an authoritarian approach)