Non-lawyers are a key part of the legal industry, no matter what lawyers like to think. From the law firm staff who keep the wheels of law churning to the contract admins who populate in-house departments to the techies driving alternative legal service providers, there’s a lot of room in this industry for the folks without a professional degree.
We often struggle with what to call the non-lawyers in our midst, but maybe it’s time to just lean into “unprofessionals” in a purely tongue-in-cheek manner. That sly branding is what Susan Hackett brings to her recent article in Corporate Counsel, “Who Are the ‘Unprofessional’ Players in Today’s Market?”
Hackett responds to Bob Ambrogi’s latest article about EY’s purchase of Pangea3 and the impact on law firms of the coming Big 4 and ALSP dominance. Hackett focuses on the impact on corporate law departments, an oft-overlooked player in the legal landscape, but one that is no stranger to leveraging the talents of those without a law school degree.
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But if you think about it, for corporate clients in the United States, really the only time that a corporate client has to use a lawyer is in making an appearance before an official tribunal, such as a court or some regulatory bodies. The “required” use of lawyers in every other aspect of corporate work is practically enforced only to the extent that an aggrieved party is willing to report or sue a service provider who isn’t a lawyer for the unauthorized practice of law. Unless the target of the UPL suit is a sham outfit or a charlatan (which is when the rules are important to protect the interests of unsophisticated or individual clients), the target is likely someone who actually has relevant, proven expertise and was knowingly retained by a client to provide it—it’s hard to prove the “foul,” except to a lawyer’s pocketbook.
And yet, corporate legal departments seem by and large plagued by the trappings of Lawyerphilia. In-house counsel generally begin their careers inside law firms and carry the firm-centric approach to their new jobs. Even employing talented non-lawyers in the department can’t quite shake this fixation out of them.
But it’s the law departments, more than even the firms, that need to embrace the “unprofessional.” Clients make the legal world go round, clients can spark the needed shift in the legal services delivery model, and clients are frankly better suited to reach across the aisle to the “unprofessionals”:
Which brings me back to the issues raised by Bob’s excellent article and my assertion that the critical crossroads in this discussion is not law firms, but law departments. Law departments sit at the intersection of executive leadership for their corporate clients, and all of the service providers who not only support legal departments but are part of the critical pipeline of legal department talent and lawyer training. If law departments overcome their intransigence, seize this moment, and fully pivot toward partnering with their business clients to drive better solutions and more efficient and effective delivery of legal services, then everybody wins.
Here’s how: Law department teams will find a secure and enlightened higher use by selecting and directing the collaborative teams (of internal and external team members) who can deliver measurable, demonstrable results for their clients; law firms will have a profitable and sustainable role in providing legal services that support, augment, and even drive the solutions that clients want to purchase that their internal teams shouldn’t staff up to deliver; and ALSPs, Big Four-type consultancies, and law companies can specialize in creating managed service portfolios, and data/tech solutions that both appeal to clients and inform the legal marketplace about how to build enduring service options that don’t require a licensed professional or a lawyer with deeper expertise to deliver. All three groups will continue to compete, but in the service of continually improved results and value for clients. Eventually, all three will successfully collaborate to serve clients by focusing on engaging the relative strengths that each can bring to the relationship.
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The future is coming and the technical restrictions that keep the Big 4 on the sidelines will eventually fall. It’s time for everyone to get ahead of the game. As Hackett concludes:
No one in the legal profession should ignore or decline to consider better practices, operational models, and solutions as demonstrated by the Big Four and the growing community of terrific law company service providers: We should be openly embracing conversations and practices that allow us to learn from them, adopt their best practices, partner with them, and use their services to improve the results we can deliver to clients. We should do this not because we’re lowering our professional standards by welcoming their better thinking and best minds into our practices, but because they’re helping to raise ours.
Who Are the ‘Unprofessional’ Players in Today’s Market? [Corporate Counsel]
Earlier: Why EY’s Purchase of Pangea3 Should Be A Wake-Up Call for Law Firms
Joe Patrice is a senior 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. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.