When I ran across a recent study by the Blickstein Group of COOs in law firms I wondered if things had changed from the days when equity partners pretty much decided everything. If they had COOs, too often they ignored them or treated them as 2nd class citizens.

After reading the study, it’s clear that while the status of COOs may have grown, true decision-making and power in most law firms still rests with the equity partners. And there’s still a gap between the way businesspeople think and the way lawyers who think they are businesspeople think.

It made me think about why that problem seems so intractable which I explore in my Above the Law post. 

We’ve all been to them: presentations you think will be substantive. But when they start, you’re told the session will be interactive with table exercises. Most of us immediately start plotting the easiest path to an exit. Having recently been to one just like that, it started me thinking about the difficulties in getting lawyers to use technology. And a lot of that stems from poor training.

It also made me conclude that interactive and table exercises as a tool for training lawyers how to actually use technology, probably won’t work very well.

Why and what will? Read the full piece in my post for Above the Law.

Sometimes at legal conferences put on by organizations like AALL, I come across something new and innovative. Such was the case when I stumbled into a session put on by Courtroom View Network.  CVN says it has videoed thousands of trials and then indexed them so you can pull up exactly what you want to see such as opening, closing, direct, cross, to name just a few.

Or you can search by industry, trial subject or even by attorney. You can literally slice and dice these videos in any way you want.

So if you want to learn a trial skill or skills, you have a chance to observe good lawyers in real trials in action. 

I dont know any other platform that provides this kind of opportunity. In an age when there are so few trials to participate in or observe, this opportunity is critical. 

Here’s my take on CVN for Above the Law.

Instead of a celebrity in a white chair talking about themselves, the opening keynote at AALL 2026 featured Federal district Judge Micah Smith talking about what he called “Aloha leadership”. Leadership based on empathy and care for others that creates lasting impact. 

He also talked about why judges and lawyers with lifetime tenure or a big book of business often forget how they got there and start exercising power out of entitlement and self interest. And how hard it is for litigators to exercise this kind of leadership. 

But years of litigation taught me the lawyers who succeed the most are rarely the ones who scream the loudest. Judge Smith’s talk backed that up. He also connected it directly to two problems we talk about a lot: A2J and GenAI adoption.

Lots of good stuff to think about. My post for Above the Law

According to recent studies, law firms have an AI problem on both sides of the business.

Not only are they slow to use AI and automation to serve clients as demonstrated by a recent Deloitte Legal study, but according to a new BigHand study, they’re also failing to use it to run their practices. Poor management of support staff and workflow not only impacts the lawyers and legal professionals, it also directly impacts client service and satisfaction. Clients that are more and more demanding better and cheaper results.

If firms want to keep business, they need to figure out how to use AI and automation acroass the board.

Here are my thoughts for Above the Law

Deloitte Legal’s new survey reveals the continuing gap between what legal departments want and expect from outside counsel when it comes to AI and what they are getting. 

Legal departments will be insourcing more and demanding lower fees from law firms.And alternative ways to price and value legal services in the age of AI. Billable hours and leverage, the mainstays of law firm revenue may no longer supply the riches many firms have enjoyed. 

And law firms are not ready for the “seismic” change that’s about to occur.

Here is my post for Above the Law