Biglaw, Litigators, Outsourcing, Technology

alt.legal: Stop What You're Doing!

There's a revolution happening in the practice of law -- and you should join it.

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Ed. note: Please welcome our newest columnists, Ed Sohn and Joe Borstein of Pangea3, who will be writing about the alternative legal services market and the future of the legal profession.

Stop what you’re doing! Take a journey with us to the alternative side of the legal profession for the next few minutes (and through our ongoing column). There is a revolution happening in the practice of law. And you should join it. Or, at the very least, break out the fanny packs and the binoculars and watch. For now, stop your SmartTimer and get off the clock… because as it turns out, reading this is NOT billable. Maybe try your favorite non-billable code, like “professional development.”

Here’s the newsflash: entrepreneurs and innovators are changing the legal profession for the better, having fun, and making real money in the process. The unstoppable forces of modern business — technology, globalization, the need for sleep/food/conjugal visits — are at the gates and climbing the highly defensible ivory tower….

You, our good reader, may be one of many suckling at the generous teat of Biglaw. No judgment here: we both did the same, and it’s a unique, lucrative experience, where you get to work (a lot) with smart people and tackle (a lot of) challenging work. Or maybe some of you are working at “lifestyle” firms, government positions, corporate legal offices, or in academia. These well-trodden trails are tempting because they are often blazed with gold, green, or red, white, and blue. These paths are encouraged by your guidance counselor, your mom (definitely Joe’s), your scared inner child, and probably your ex.

It’s likely that you, dear reader, have framed your career goals with one of these career paths in mind. And we salute your decisions! But we also invite you to remember the days before law school, when it seemed there were infinite paths ahead of you. That is our holy purpose — to re-inspire you, and to remind you that the apparent options are not the only options. There are alternatives.

In fact, we’re calling this new recurring column “alt.legal,” in nerdy homage to the Usenet underground of yore. Part of our coverage will feature former attorneys venturing off the beaten paths to do something different in the $400 billion legal industry, re-imagining and innovating in the legal world, and maybe even making a nice living doing it (see, e.g., Joe’s mom’s approval).

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So quit your job and do something different. Go ahead. Right now. Alt-tab, finally hit send on that departure memo you’ve drafted a million times, and revel in your freedom. Come on, quitting’s a great thing to do!

… (waiting) …

Okay, fine, we probably didn’t talk you into doing something like this. So don’t quit, then.

But while stare decisis may be relevant in jurisprudence, it doesn’t need to be the framework for your career. Don’t let the way things have always been done determine the way you do them in the future – there is a term for that – because the game is changing and opportunities abound.

Some game-changing trends:

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  • Predictive Coding: We welcome our new Legal Robot Overlords, and hope to help them rule with an egalitarian iron fist.
  • Litigation Finance: Why pay for your own litigation when others will do it for you?
  • Actually Useful Practice Guides: Hey, someone finally created a step-by-step guide to practicing law that even a first-year associate can follow!
  • Legal Outsourcing: You can now unleash the forces of globalization on your legal tasks, as the market has finally acknowledged that high-volume tasks like doc review and diligence do not need to be handled by U.S. attorneys (full disclosure: we work at a legal outsourcing company).

The truth is, legal technology, custom content, third-party funding, outsourcing, and other new waves are creating a new normal (PDF, page 4). Even for those who feel called to traditional legal practice, the ones who understand these trends are gaining an advantage in outbidding their rivals, winning new matters, and delighting current clients with innovative solutions. If you stand up and join this wave of pioneers, you can extend your reach and leverage your skills to multiply your impact, doing more with less effort. Maybe you can even go on a real date (because let’s face it, your next ex is out there on Tinder as we speak)!

Look, we speak from experience. We are Penn Law grads, which led us pretty naturally to careers in Biglaw. We know the environment that values the challenge of a difficult brief, a long and complex trial, closing week of a messy transaction with a grip of parties. We know the appraisal discussions about being proactive and growing your personal brand and productivity. We get it, and we honestly respect it. High-quality legal representation is, as ever, an esteemed professional industry. But maybe, just maybe, there are some other, more creative ways to leverage your legal training in bringing value to your clients.

And if you ARE a client, well, you already know all of this, don’t you.

So stop what you’re doing! Quit what you’re doing, or at least quit practicing the way you practice. Understand and join the “alternative” trends in the legal market. Because the time has come for your craft – and perhaps your life – to get more innovative, more profitable and more exciting.

Ed Sohn and Joe Borstein are Global Directors at Thomson Reuters’ award-winning legal outsourcing company, Pangea3, which employs approximately 1,000 full-time attorneys across the globe. They both spent over half a decade as associates in Biglaw and were classmates at Penn Law.

Ed spent over two years at Pangea3’s largest office in New Delhi, India, training and managing hundreds of Indian attorneys, technologists, and business professionals, providing high-value litigation support. He now focuses on developing and delivering integrated technology and outsourcing solutions. Ed frequently speaks and writes on best practices in e-discovery processes and technology. Prior to joining Pangea3, Ed was an associate at King & Spalding LLP, representing clients in business litigation and government investigations. You can contact Ed about e-discovery, managed legal services, theology, chess, Star Trek The Next Generation, or the Chicago Bulls at [email protected].

Joe manages a global team dedicated to counseling law firm and corporate clients on how to best leverage Pangea3’s full-time attorneys to improve legal results, cut costs, raise profits, and have a social life. Prior to joining Pangea3, Joe was a sixth-year associate at the New York office of the distinguished firm of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP, working on matters related to securities fraud and market manipulation. Before practice, Joe attended Penn & Penn Law, where he excelled, inter alia, in the bowling league. He is a frequent speaker on global trends in the legal industry and, specifically, how law firms are leveraging those trends to become more profitable. If you are interested in entrepreneurship and the delivery of legal services, please reach out to Joe directly at [email protected].

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