ABA Journal Legal Rebels

How this duo is trying to ReInvent law school

Thu, 09 May 2013 08:30:03 -0500

Editor's note: Last week Paul Lippe noted several programs shaking up the traditional legal ed model. Here, two professors share details about one of those programs. Greetings from ReInvent Law, our law laboratory devoted to technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship at Michigan State University…

D-Day for law school deans

Wed, 01 May 2013 08:40:21 -0500

By now, it's old news that law is in a pickle. But if you look at that dust cloud on the horizon, you’ll see the Deans' Cavalry riding to the rescue. For some time we’ve been saying that the recent “disengagement” strategy of law schools, aspiring to be uber-departments of…

When measuring achievement of lawyers, should hours or results matter most?

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:11:52 -0500

Not long ago, I was speaking before a group of law firm managing partners who were curious about how we ran a firm without keeping track of hours. One manager asked how we handled associate reviews considering we don't track billable hours. Before answering, I asked how many used hours…

Was Rutgers GC blamed for properly managing a process to the wrong outcome?

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 08:40:54 -0500

If you follow college basketball, you haven’t been able to avoid the Rutgers University athletic department’s meltdown over the last week in which (i) a disgruntled former assistant coach provided a videotape of abusive behavior in practice by the head basketball coach, (ii) the athletic director first chose to discipline,…

What clients are saying about the future—and what it means

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 08:30:06 -0500

Twice a year, I serve as a faculty member for a two-day program designed to help inside and outside lawyers use Value Fees. Each of these programs begins with a “present state/future state” exercise. The inside counsel and outside counsel adjourn to separate rooms, and each group identifies what is…

Why ‘Tomorrow’s Lawyers’ is required reading

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 08:45:28 -0500

Far and away the best analyst and predictor of the evolution of the legal marketplace is Richard Susskind, the U.K.-based academic and futurist. Richard has a new book out called Tomorrow’s Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future. It is a slim and…

Social media helps Legal Rebel grow her practice

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 08:46:10 -0500

Photo of Carolyn Elefant by Arnold Adler. Carolyn Elefant Rebel Year: 2010 Home: Bethesda, Md. What she’s been up to: Carolyn Elefant, the woman behind My Shingle, continues to blog about sole-practice life…

Law schools should consider med-school model—a dean’s view

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 08:54:43 -0500

Recent news reports suggest broad-based support for a major free trade agreement between the United States and the European Union. Many are confident that a pact will be concluded within the next two years—one more giant step in the ongoing elimination of barriers to an integrated global economy. Until very…

Why waste the crisis in legal education?

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 09:30:49 -0600

As previewed in a previous post, I had the chance last month to speak to the ABA’s meeting of law school deans. The meeting was off the record, so I can’t disclose any of the group discussions. But I can share my own observations…

Why clients fear alternative fee arrangements

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 09:30:42 -0600

I was catching up on a pile of reading when I was confronted with a piece about the “fear” among general counsel of alternative fee arrangements. Just a few days before, I had highlighted a piece in Richard Susskind’s new book, Tomorrow’s Lawyers, where he observed that “in truth, hourly…

Online legal info free for 20 Latin American countries

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:30:33 -0600

Photo of Tim Stanley by Tony Avelar. Legal Rebels Update: Timothy J. Stanley Rebel Year: 2009 (Read his profile from 2009.) Home: Los Altos, Calif. What he’s been up to: Twenty Latin American…

Only law schools that tackle costs, graduate client-centered lawyers will survive—a dean’s view

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:53:00 -0600

As calls for reform of legal education continue to suggest a variety of directions, one thing is certain. Law schools will be expected to do more with less. We often hear legal educators highlight tensions within the loud criticisms aimed at today’s law schools. Critics tell us that costs are…

Adding value, managing costs, and participating in the conversation–a dean’s view

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 09:30:56 -0600

A key part of my job as dean of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law is to improve value for our students. That means both improving the educational experience and making law school more affordable. At Denver Law, we are addressing affordability by, among other things, increasing the…

Finding ways to keep fees low is ‘09 Legal Rebel Luz Herrera’s passion

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 09:30:24 -0600

Photo of Luz Herrera by Tony Avelar. Legal Rebel Luz Herrera Rebel Year: 2009 (Read her profile from 2009.) Home: San Diego What she’s been up to: Showing Thomas Jefferson School of Law students…

How would you shape the law school experience for the next generation?

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:42:29 -0600

Thanks to reader support of this discussion at the New Normal, I was asked to speak to the “Deans Workshop for ABA Approved Law Schools” on Feb. 15 in Arizona. I've been asked specifically to discuss how changes in the clients’ world…

Why not improve value instead of doubling down on bad practices?

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 17:30:26 -0600

As we move into 2013, firms face a basic choice between doubling down on Dewey or pumping up the value. Reading the various things written of late (PDF) , it would seem that many firms are "doubling down" by: • Aggressively seeking…

Do you deduct time from your billing sheet for bathroom breaks? And other billable-hour mysteries

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 09:30:19 -0600

Some random questions about the billable hour: 1) When people record their time days or weeks after the work was done, do you ever wonder about the accuracy of the entries? They should be accurate. They are made to appear accurate—measured in tenths of an hour. But do people remember…

13 New Year’s Resolutions for Improving Client Service

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 09:45:57 -0600

It’s that time of the year. So here is a list of 13 resolutions for ‘13. Feel free to adopt any of these you want. 1) I will spend more time in 2013 looking at the relationships I have with my clients from their perspective. 2) I will make a…

Reshaping Legal Education to Match the New Normal

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 10:59:12 -0600

In 1938, Karl Llewellyn lamented (PDF) the age of industrialization. "Specialized work, mass-production, cheapened production, advertising and selling—finding the customer who does not know he wants it, and making him want it: these are the characteristics of the age. Not, yet, of the Bar." Despite Llewellyn's grave misgivings,…

‘09 Legal Rebel James Holderman Finds Ways to Engage Jurors, Increase Efficiency & Lower Costs

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 12:32:36 -0600

Judge James F. Holderman Photo by Wayne Slezak James F. Holderman Rebel Year: 2009 Home: Chicago What he’s been up to: While courts across the country struggle to reign in social media-enthused jurors, Chief Judge James…

The Aftermath of Urging Law Firms Not to Send Out Price-Increase Letters

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 13:06:44 -0600

I recently wrote a piece for Corporate Counsel magazine that suggested that law firms might want to think twice about sending out their annual rate increase letter. The response has been incredible. And vehement. From every side. No surprise, eh? I’ll assume that you’ve either read the…

Time to Blow Up the Billable Hour Formula

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 10:10:43 -0600

It’s time we face a fundamental problem that’s existed for the past 35 years after we moved away from fixed prices, retainers and other approaches that had previously been used and instead went to fees based solely on hours. Hours are performing two diametrically opposed functions. First, they are being…

Prepping a Value-Fee Engagement Letter? Consider These 13 Issues First

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 10:02:17 -0600

I routinely am asked for copies of our engagement letters by people who want to utilize an alternative fee arrangement with their client. To address these queries, I have boiled down the points to be covered. As I have said many times, Valorem is a litigation firm, so this list…

Catching Up with ‘09 Legal Rebel Tom Goldstein

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 13:09:52 -0500

Photo of Tom Goldstein by Arnold Adler Legal Rebel Tom Goldstein Rebel Year: 2009 Home: Chevy Chase, Md. What he’s been up to: Tom Goldstein doesn’t do things in the traditional way. But in schooling…

Read 10 Law-Inspired Haiku, Contest Winners Announced

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:27:38 -0500

Corrected: The ABA Journal is pleased to announce that the Ross Essay Contest selection committee has chosen 10 winners in this year's legal haiku challenge. Editors sifted through nearly 450 submissions by ABA members, who were asked to submit up to five law-inspired haiku in the categories of Innovation, Inspiration,…