The legal industry is constantly challenged to respond quickly and effectively to business, technological, and social changes. As the demand for new legal services continues to accelerate, law firms are exploring the possibility of delivering such help in ways that have not been part of their traditional practice models. This is a process known as “law new.”
There are many different ways to deliver law new. One example involves bringing legal help to underserved communities. Another involves offering such services as a secondary focus for the primary legal efforts of a firm. In either case, a well thought out plan utilizing law new techniques can benefit clients and generate revenue and client satisfaction for a law firm.
A New Way of Legal Service
As the business of law shifts from a cost center to an enabler of competitive advantage, large legal buyers are driving change. This includes a focus on customer experience and outcomes, which require a fluid, collaborative approach to delivery.
Legal industry stakeholders are responding to the challenge with a variety of innovative strategies, including:
Consolidation of legal delivery
During 2022, California lawmakers passed more than 1,200 bills and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed almost 1,000 into law. Most of these laws are minor fixes, while a select group will have noticeable impact on the state’s economy and society-at-large.
For instance, this year’s “pink tax” law will prevent stores from charging higher prices for shampoo and other personal care products that are marketed to women than they do for very similar versions marketed to men. It is a small step that advocates say will help close the pay gap between male and female workers.
Law firms and in-house legal departments remain the dominant provider sources of legal services. While they collaborate routinely, they differ from each other in their economic models, cultures, remits, and technology platforms. They must work together to drive a shift to law new, which is a platform-based delivery structure from which agile, on-demand resources with verifiable, material expertise and experience can be sourced. Profit will no longer be derived from adherence to a legacy economic model built on input; it will come from a purpose-driven, customer-centric, data-backed, and tech-enabled model based on output and net promoter score.
A legal delivery strategy must include the right blend of specialized talent, processes, projects, technology, and management/operations. It should be designed to meet a specific legal need and produce the desired outcome. It must lead with fit-for-purpose technology and be a team sport with legal practitioners, “techies,” process/project managers, data analysts, and other allied professionals. It should be a continuous improvement process that starts with a legal buyer’s strategic plan and ends with a measurement of progress and the achievement of its goals. This is a new way of delivering legal services, and it’s the future of law new.