Legal Profession in Transition

At the NALP Conference: It's the End of the World As We Know It

 Abovethelaw.com reported on a speech at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Law Placement (NALP) by law firm management guru James Jones -- Managing Director of Hildebrandt International, and former managing partner of Arnold & Porter.

 -- spoke to a packed ballroom about how the legal industry is, in short, completely screwed (at least for 2009, and probably beyond).

Jones did not need a crystal ball to predict that:

1. Pushing through rate increases will be tough.
2. Expect pain in moving from a period of never-ending growth to a focus on increased efficiency.
3. The way that law firms operate as businesses will change - more pain.
4. Firms will move to competency-based compensation models - at long last!
5. Staffing models will change. Expect to see a growth in other types of attorneys -- e.g., staff attorneys, counsel / senior counsel, and contract lawyers.
6. Expect to see an "unbundling" of legal services. We will begin to see top firms working alongside cheaper firms as co-counsel on the same case, or top firms offering less expensive services under the same roof.
7. Finally, expect to see a shift away from the billable hour model.

Related article

With the Downturn, It's Time to Rethink the Legal Profession [New York Times]