The final Legalweek keynote made the argument that law firms need to do what Apple and Netflix did in the early 2000s: blow up a their existing business model for a better one. Hard to argue with that. But it’s hard to see that it’s happening in legal.
Here’s the data: only 19% of firms have modified fee arrangements aligned with AI adoption. 72% have no plans to change attorney compensation structures. And less than two-thirds are hiring specialists to actually train their lawyers.
In the late 90s I did a national flat fee engagement. The client loved it. The partners hated it. Culture ate strategy for breakfast then. Not sure that much has changed:
the industry may be whistling past the graveyard.