Biglaw Divided On How To Deal With Technology
Technology is coming, and Biglaw is trying to get ready.
Last week, in the back room of a Midtown eatery, a number of eDiscovery specialists from across the New York Biglaw landscape gathered for breakfast and a wide-ranging discussion of the challenges they face bringing their firms into the future of legal technology. The event, part of the Cowen Group’s ongoing series of thought leadership workshops and sponsored by CS Disco, focused in large part on getting to 2020, the round number of our times.
If one envisions a law firm’s efforts to move boldly into the future as a matter of balancing the triad of people, technology, and process, then the most striking revelation of the event was the lack of uniformity across the industry. Considering the pack mentality of Biglaw firms — consistently terrified to waver from their peers — the firms represented on this day varied greatly in their current focus. The first few firms to offer their thoughts said, unequivocally, that they’re in the market for people right now. The next handful were satisfied with their personnel and were really focused on tightening up their procedures.
There wasn’t a lot of appetite to admit that a firm was behind the times on technology, but it slipped out between the lines from a few folks who said they were “always open” to considering new technology. Still, another quipped that firm leaders are advised that they are in a unique position to spend a lot of money on good technology and in a unique position to spend a lot of money on bad technology, and this seemed to reflect the overall mood.
Happy Lawyers, Better Results The Key To Thriving In Tough Times
This tracked generally the results of Cowen’s recent survey of in-house counsel that found a profoundly inward-looking approach to eDiscovery. People, processes, efficiency… but not so much “new technology.” And yet, technology looms over any discussion in this area even if no one wants to admit it. If there’s one thing everyone seems to agree upon, it’s that technology is inevitable. Everyone admits that AI is coming, but no one is eager to be the first mover. They want to be ready when the tide reaches their firm.
Neil Etheridge of CS Disco formulated the equation of the day, noting that good new technology married to bad process results in bad new technology. That formula rang true when one Biglaw discovery specialist described fighting back internally against the perils of a one-size-fits-all approach. When senior attorneys suggested an “eDiscovery checklist for junior attorneys,” the specialist protested that this was a recipe for disaster, inviting inexperienced lawyers to blow past the nuances of every individual production and cut out the experienced personnel. It’s no surprise, of course, that a room full of eDiscovery specialists think it’s invaluable to have eDiscovery specialists on the payroll, but listening to these people explain their experiences saving their firms from eDiscovery naïveté really drove home the critical role they play in the modern Biglaw firm.
Toward the end of the discussion, moderator David Cowen took a detour from the narrow technological focus to ask the room how many of the current Am Law 200 will still be around in the next 5-10 years. Cowen sees increasing consolidation at the top of the market — thanks in no small part to technology — and thinks we’ll see a significant decrease in firms with more mergers and dissolutions. One participant noted the rise of the boutique — the trend toward lower-overhead specialists able to find their niche and thrive (in part due to improved technology) as a contributing factor. Most didn’t envision a mass decline in firms, reasoning that the Am Law 200 didn’t get where they are through a penchant for instability.
But one veteran of LeBoeuf reminded everyone that firms are never going anywhere until they do.
Sponsored
AI Presents Both Opportunities And Risks For Lawyers. Are You Prepared?
Law Firm Business Development Is More Than Relationship Building
How The New Lexis+ AI App Empowers Lawyers On The Go
AI Presents Both Opportunities And Risks For Lawyers. Are You Prepared?
Joe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.
Sponsored
Curbing Client And Talent Loss With Productivity Tech
