Peer to Peer Magazine

June 2011

The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association

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From Immalleable to Agile The New Business of Law by Tony Abena of Business of Law for Thomson Reuters Professional 72 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer alone 2020. T The business of law, however, is a different matter altogether. For many years, it has carried long-standing traditions of its own: partnership firm structures, hourly billing rates, career partner tracks and managing partner leadership. Conventions such as these have served the profession well for decades. Today, the business side of the legal industry is undergoing a whirlwind of change that is accelerating daily and uprooting long-accepted law market conventions. A host of relentless forces — some external, such as global economic forces; and some internal, such as new views on how firms are best managed — present major challenges and opportunities that are transforming the industry. The legal market landscape will look vastly different in the year 2020 than it does today. A key difference is that the future will belong to agile law firms — those willing to leverage new technologies and adopt more flexible business models and management strategies to gain competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving marketplace. he practice of law dates back hundreds of years and is steeped in tradition and formalities, many of which have remained largely unchanged. Black robes, Latin terminology and, in some jurisdictions, powdered wigs aren’t likely to be replaced in the year 3030, let

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