Lawyers use words like masons lay stones. Words are tools of the legal trade. It’s odd, then, that one of the most important words in the legal lexicon, “upskilling,” is scarcely known to most legal professionals. That will change soon—here’s why. Upskilling is a term well-known to business. In the... read more →
Sep
30
Aug
26
Law firm sustainability—and more specifically, the future of the partnership model-- is a hotly debated topic. Some pundits suggest partnership firms are dinosaurs on the brink of extinction. They point to a Darwinian marketplace with peripatetic rainmakers; migration of work in-house and to other provider sources; competition from the Big Four and other formidable... read more →
Aug
12
Business is about doing more with less. This is its mantra since the global financial crisis. Tech-enabled, data and process-driven upstarts have unseated a pan-industry array of incumbents and ushered in the digital age. Optimization of customer access, satisfaction, and value are common denominators among the disruptors. Law is about... read more →
Jul
29
Collaboration is a fiber of the digital age business fabric. In a global marketplace climate where boundaries separating geographies and industries are melting like glaciers and technological advances are enabling new delivery models to transcend traditional divides, collaboration is essential for competitiveness. Organizations that collaborate internally, with others in the supply chain,... read more →
Jul
15
Law schools have ceded an opportunity to shore up their balance sheets and to do right by grads, the legal industry, and the broader society. How? They have failed to transition from three-year degree stopovers to learning centers for life that upskill grads and other professionals throughout their careers. This would have... read more →
Jul
09
This past Monday (July 2) Mark A. Cohen wrote the following in Forbes online: “Law is staging its own version of ‘every kid gets a trophy’ … Every week, all over the globe, the legal industry throws gala dinners to celebrate its ‘innovators,’ ‘visionaries,’ and ‘pioneers.’ These gatherings afford attendees a chance... read more →
Jul
09
Mark A. Cohen kicked off the Legal Geek North America Conference to a sold out crowd in Brooklyn, New York. Mark shared insights, challenges, and opportunities confronting the legal profession to 450 attendees from around the globe. READ MORE
Jun
27
“Data is the oil of the digital era,” proclaims a 2017 Economist article. Big business—especially tech giants like Alphabet (Google’s parent), Amazon, Facebook, and Apple among others—are mining data like Standard Oil processed petroleum a century before. Why is the legal industry still running on gut and instinct while the businesses it... read more →
Jun
09
Not long ago, Axiom was often touted as law’s next big thing. The on-demand corporate legal talent company that launched in 2000 has enjoyed nearly two decades of expanding revenue, client base, talent pool, and brand recognition. Still, the industry spotlight long cast on Axiom has shifted in recent years... read more →
May
28
The trillion-dollar global legal industry has a looming skills crisis. Its roots extend far beyond law grads entering the marketplace lacking “practice-ready” capability or the vanishing, client-subsidized, on-the-job-training that firms once provided to young associates. Law’s skills crisis derives from the profession’s insular, self-regulated, anachronistic conceptions of what it means... read more →