Conferences / Symposia, Technology

The Pace Of Change In The Law Is Killing Lawyers

The pace of change in the legal industry is simply appalling.

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Cave of the Winds (Grant Lykins Photography)

I’m headed to Vegas for the last day of ILTACON 2017 tomorrow, and I have to tell you, I’m sure hoping to have my socks knocked off. Because I am singularly appalled with the pace of change in the legal industry.

This past weekend, as a last hurrah of summer, we took our kids to Colorado Springs and a gorgeous spot called Cave of the Winds. I have to tell you, it’s pretty damn cool. If you’re out this way, you should spend a few hours there.

As I was walking through the Cave listening to our tour guide Abby (who did a great job by the way, if her boss is reading this), she told us about how fast the stalactites (the long structures hanging like icicles from the roof of the cave) grow. I bought a picture of one to show you what I’m talking about.

And what she said was pretty stunning:  those stalactites grow 1/8 of an inch every thousand years.

An eighth of an inch every thousand years.

And as I listened to her, I thought — that’s about how fast the legal profession embraces change. And that drives me crazy.

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The pressures on practicing attorneys are tremendous. If you are in private practice, you are expected to simultaneously do excellent and economical work for your clients, to do pro bono work (and we WANT to do that, it’s the most rewarding), to speak for business development and not be paid despite all of the value provided, and to be involved in your community. We have to be continuously learning — there is no standstill, especially today in our ever plugged-in world, and we are meant to be building a practice at the same time we are working in it. All of that before you even think about coaching your child’s sports team, or volunteering at school and getting to know the teachers, or stop working long enough to have a relationship and kids.

I’m here to say that the lawyers coming up and of the future won’t do it. And those of us trying to exist in that model can’t keep it up. There has to be change. There has to be a different way to measure value than the billable hour because it is being diminished constantly. It’s never been an effective vehicle for me because I’m uber-efficient, but as much talk of it as there is, clients don’t know or usually want to do a better way. The law firms of old can’t continue to exist in the same way they always have and we’ve seen it in the consolidation and collapse of some of the largest firms in the world over the last few years.

I have always said that lawyers are just consultants on the law. We solve problems that exist in complicated, ever-changing fact patterns. We have to learn new things with new technologies, and that learning is part of what we do, but it also should be acknowledged. We need change in the administration of the practice to the law to allow us to build businesses the way that other businesses have the freedom to do.

I’m interested in change, and in innovation and the law. I want to see new technologies that allow for collaboration and education in differing types of models, of law firms that set up structures to service clients effectively in a way that allows lawyers to make a living and not work 80 hours a week, and in clients who want to work creatively with their lawyers because they respect what the lawyers bring to the table. I want technology that lets me do more in less time, built by lawyers who understand what I need.

I’m still that young lawyer with big dreams — to help people who don’t know how to help themselves when they have legal needs. But the hours in the day are short, and the needs are many. I need help. And I suspect I’m not alone.

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So I’m hoping to find some innovation at ILTA tomorrow. Something that means that stalactite called the law might grow a heck of a lot faster. If you’ve got something good to show me, drop me an email and we’ll connect. Or, if you aren’t at ILTA, but have something cool you are doing for lawyers, let me know, I’d love to take a look.

Kelly TwiggerKelly Twigger gave up the golden handcuffs of her Biglaw partnership to start ESI Attorneys, an eDiscovery and information law Firm, in 2009. She is passionate about teaching lawyers and legal professionals how to think about and use ESI to win, and does so regularly for her clients. The Wisconsin State Bar named Kelly a Legal Innovator in 2014 for her development of eDiscovery Assistant— an online research and eDiscovery playbook for lawyers and legal professionals. When she’s not thinking, writing or talking about ESI, Kelly is wandering in the mountains of Colorado, or watching Kentucky basketball. You can reach her by email at Kelly@ediscoveryassistant.com or on Twitter: @kellytwigger.

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