Future & Trends

A long time ago in Internet years, I wrote that solos and smalls must come up with ways to diversify their services. That doesn’t mean having cheap rates for certain clients and full fees for others, but rather developing different revenue streams to ensure that cash is coming through the door. Back in 2008, the…

Legend has it that Southwest Airlines started with a business plan sketched on the back of a cocktail napkin up by founders Herb Kelleher and Rollin King back in the mid-1960s.   Back then, the federal government regulated airline rates, keeping prices so high that only the wealthy could afford to fly.  Kelleher and King…

This post is part of the MyShingle Solos summer series which will run between June 17 and July 3, 2014.   This post is written by MyShingle Guest Blogger LaTasha Riley As a new or solo attorney, most of your financial resources are spent on necessities like office essentials, transportation, and marketing. After covering the basics…

Last week, one of NewLaw’s own, Clearspire expired. Or did it? Clearpsire says otherwise portraying the closure of Clearspire Law as one giant pivot from #AltLaw Firm model to a legal technology company. Clearspire explains that it plans to take the proprietary practice platform, Coral, developed by the non-lawyer owned business side of its operation…

Over at Lawyerist, Sam Glover sparked some discussion with the question, How would you advise a new lawyer to prepare for the future of law?  Sam’s question generated several thoughtful responses that I commend you to read, but I think there’s an equally significant question that’s been overlooked. Specifically, how should old (or to be…

A recent article in The Atlantic asks: Is There Such a Thing as an Affordable Lawyer?. A provocative title, but how accurate is it?  And how useful are most of the suggested solutions —- which involve automating services or forcing solos and smalls to offer reduced rates and eliminating the “guild mentality” which of course,…

A couple of weeks ago, I embarked on the long journey of learning and mastering computer code for several reasons. First, as I approach a milestone birthday (and work through the concomitant midlife crisis), I’ve felt compelled to try something new. Second, since I so frequently criticize  many of the legal tech startups for not…

In reading this article about physicians feeling pressure to join hospital or health network systems, I wondered whether this might be the future for the practice of law as well. The article describes the experience of Dean Pollack, an OBGYN, in practice for thirty years, who is committed to maintain an independent practice – notwithstanding…