What Lawyers Can Learn from Obama’s Victory
Barack Obama’s victory can teach lawyers some important lessons about change and the factors that cause it, according to the founder of an online collaboration service for lawyers.
“Obama harnessed the forces of demographics, globalization, transparency and technology to what in hindsight looks like an inevitable victory,” writes Paul Lippe, founder of Legal OnRamp, in an article for the American Lawyer. “The same forces are driving change in the law.”
Lippe refers to predictions by legal futurist Richard Susskind about a transformation of law practice, and says skeptics should be prepared for change. Susskind believes conventional legal advisers will be much less prominent and legal services will be “commoditized” and delivered more cheaply.
Lippe says Obama’s legal career didn’t follow the classic route of a clerkship or a big law firm. He’s an insider who went outside. In the legal profession, change is also being driven by outsiders such as corporate general counsel, as well as law firm leaders ready for change. Other similarities he sees include:
• Young people overwhelmingly favored Obama, and they will also drive change in the legal profession with demands for greater participation and meaning in their legal careers.
• Obama’s online collaboration tools shifted power from the media and pundits to the people. Technology can also transform law practice.
• Changes in the economy produced dramatic change in politics, and it will do the same in the legal profession.
