Building the 21st-Century Law Firm

What should a 21st-century law firm look like? Over the last 100 years, the ABA Journal has been chronicling the legal profession, its changes and challenges.

Jan 1, 2017 1:50 AM CST

Use tech, yes, but your law firm must be client-centric

Richard Susskind, in his book Tomorrow’s Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future, claims that legal institutions and lawyers are poised to change more radically over the next two decades than they have over the last two centuries.

Jan 1, 2017 1:40 AM CST

8 strategies for constructing your new law firm

It’s 2017, and we are all cyborgs. Don’t believe me? What’s the capital of Kyrgyzstan? You just thought about reaching for your smartphone—your auxiliary brain—to look it up, didn’t you? Instant knowledge is unremarkable in 2017, which is solid evidence that we are living in the future.

Jan 1, 2017 1:30 AM CST

#Attention: Law professor’s forum sheds light on racial injustice

The African American Policy Forum, a think tank founded by law professor and critical race theory scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, coined the hashtag #blackgirlsmatter.

Dec 1, 2016 2:10 AM CST

New #JustAdulting app gives teenagers quick legal information

The app, produced in partnership with the Florida Law Related Education Association, replaces a paper pamphlet aimed at providing teens with legal information they have to have while they make the transition to adulthood.

Dec 1, 2016 2:00 AM CST

Fishing for Bias: Wildlife research techniques find gaps in court record

Vanderbilt University law professor Edward Cheng says he’s discovered that publication bias in court records can conceal how often experts are allowed to testify, and he’s found a way to prove it.

Dec 1, 2016 1:50 AM CST

Law schools expect applications to increase, but grads’ job data shows decline

Dec 1, 2016 1:40 AM CST

Technology is making it easier for lawyers to do pro bono work

The legal industry already has been heavily affected by technology and the “Uber-ization” of the marketplace. It follows that pro bono work also would be affected.

Dec 1, 2016 1:35 AM CST

At TBD Law conference, lawyers share practice innovations

At a small table in a very large room, two lawyers discuss fixed client fees. They are from neighboring states, of similar experience and both in estate and trust practices, but facing the differences that come with jurisdictional regulations.

Nov 1, 2016 2:00 AM CDT

Uncertainty about Brexit gives UK lawyers a boost

LONDON—As the United Kingdom continues to operate in limbo after its historic vote to leave the European Union, law firms offer advice and counsel as their clients navigate the uncharted waters.

Nov 1, 2016 1:50 AM CDT

Cybersecurity insurance is a ‘must have’ for law firms

Nearly a quarter of law firms with 500 or more attorneys have experienced a cybersecurity breach, according to those who responded to the ABA’s 2015 Legal Technology Survey Report.

Nov 1, 2016 1:40 AM CDT

Who’s afraid of cybercrime?

Nov 1, 2016 1:30 AM CDT

For an expert witness, consider reputation, location and cost

Jason Turchin, a Weston, Florida, lawyer, has successfully used expert witnesses from fields in which there are not many experts, including the relatively new field of automobile air bag injuries.

Nov 1, 2016 1:20 AM CDT

Litigator’s book documents the service of Kansas’ Frontier Guard to President Lincoln

In April 1861, 46 attorneys traveled from the Great Plains to Washington, D.C., where they protected President Abraham Lincoln.

Oct 1, 2016 2:40 AM CDT

New lawyers get an assist on their student loan debt from their firms

Not many first-year associates would have the courage to march up to their firm’s chief operating officer and boldly ask for help with their student loans.

Oct 1, 2016 2:30 AM CDT