As the Covid pandemic finally (hopefully) begins to wind down, 2023 may be the year law firms will need to reach more definite decisions about remote work.

Certainly, law firms have been grabbling with this thorny issue for some time. And policies have been in flux as the pandemic ebbed and flowed. Also, the increased legal workload and shortage of lawyers to handle that load may have forced firms to somewhat reluctantly throw in the towel. They began to let lawyers and associates work where and when they wanted. But when the hot legal market began to cool, firms began to do an about face and require lawyers to be in the office, at least some of the time. But should that be certain days of the week, like Tuesday through Thursday? Should it be every day? Should it be left to the discretion of individual lawyers? Practice groups?
Continue Reading Dealing with the Remote Work Conundrum: Six Best Practices
My people are destroyed from a lack of knowledge. Hosea 4:6.
There’s lots of talk about AI and machine learning and how those tools will or will not impact the practice of law.
This past Sunday, I decided I wanted a small tabletop Christmas tree for my office. After all, ’tis the season. I went online and was immediately faced with a confusing and irritating search (Tabletop Christmas trees not readily indexed on several sites). But, I finally found one at a big box store nearby. I could get it delivered by Monday afternoon, but what the hell, I could also drive over and big it up immediately, right? Wrong.
While lots of states endlessly debate what to do about A2J and contemplate their navels, Alaska has actually done something that might just move the needle.
Several articles and surveys that have come out recently suggest a looming donnybrook in 2023 between law firms and business clients. The law firms want to aggressively raise rates but their business clients claim to be outraged by such efforts. These clients also say they plan to resist such efforts aggressively.
In the article, Moren talks about how several well-known tech companies have pivoted even when they seemingly were on the top of their game. By pivoting sooner rather than later, these companies set themselves up for survival. And even greater success in a changing world. Says Moren, “Where once they might have ruled the world by producing the thing that everybody needed to have—whether it was a hardware product or a crucial piece of software—they seem to eventually evolve into a new form, one where they’re focused less on delivering a key product and more on what service they provide.”
I just finished reading James Patterson’s book,