Transcript New Pyridine Law Firm - Professional Office Consultants

New Paradigm Law Firm
Professional Office Consulting
Bob Badger
Traditional Law Firm
Partners
Associates Associates
Paralegals Paralegals Paralegals
Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff Staff
Pyramid
Associate-Driven Profits In
Big Traditional Firm
2500 hours x $140/hour rate =
$350,000/year (revenue/associate)
Firm cost/associate = $150,000 yr
Margin/associate = $200,000
Every additional associate on a case =
$200,000/year (in bottom line profit)
Impact On Law Firms Of
Associate-Driven Profits
Inexperienced new associates added 1998
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Latham: 150 (20% of the entire firm)
Cravath 76 (22% of the firm)
Sullivan & Cromwell 99 (21% of the firm)
Result of these profit-driven policies
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90% of all associates are “terminated” between 3-9
years and, just when they finally have experience, are
replaced with completely inexperienced new
associates
1/5th of all lawyers in the large pyramid firms thus
have no experience
The Resulting Pyramid
Structure Is Detrimental
To Quality
The important work is driven to these
inexperienced associates

That is where the margins/profits are
Large staffs resulting from profit motive
fragment the knowledge of case
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Experienced senior trial lawyers are
insulated from the case by layers of
inexperienced associates
Because profits come from hours billed,
there is no incentive to use technology to
increase efficiency
How Can Quality Be
Improved?
Create incentives for assigning important
work to experienced trial lawyers
Create incentives for training associates
Create incentives for extensive use of
technology
How Can These QualityBased Incentives Be
Created?
Use result-based, non-hourly,
billing
Law firm profits are then based
on expertise, experience and
results, not merely “hours
expended”
New Paradigm Law Firm
through Technology
Partners Partners Partners Partners
Associates Associates
Paralegals
Staff
Partners
They do the Work
1. Partner have sole contact with clients.
2. Partners type there own letters and
pleadings.
3. Partners do their own research.
4. Partners do their own depositions.
5. Partners go to trial alone or with one
associate or paralegal.
Associates
Learn to be partners
1. They work in the background with the
mentor partner.
2. They assist the partner in a learning
mode.
3. They may go to trial with the partner
to assist and learn.
Paralegals
1. They are fewer in number and have a
much lesser role that in the traditional
law firm.
2. They work for the partner directly.
Staff
No Librarian. All research is done on line.
The Administrator purchases everything on
line.
There is no file room as all paperwork is
scanned into the server.
Filings and outside deliveries are reduced by
e-mail, e-filings. Outside couriers are used
when required.
Staff
continued
With the partners, associates and
paralegals doing there own typing, the
ratio of of time keepers to secretaries
can be kept to 8 to 1.
Most traditional law firm have a ratio of
2 to 1.
Cost
Personnel cost is the highest part of
operation the law firm.
The new paradigm significantly reduces the
operating cost of the law firm and thus makes
the potential profits to the partners very high.
Through careful analysis of the hours spent
on many complex litigation cases, the firm
can accurately predict the cost of litigation.
Cost
continued
This allows the new pyridine law firm to
offer fixed pricing for complex litigation,
and still provide a high profit margin to
the partners.
If the client prevails in the complex
litigation the firm receives a large
bonus. This new concept is very
appealing to many large corporations.
Concepts
Technology is used to the fullest extent.
All depositions, documents, letters, emails, drawings, photographs, videos
and visuals are stored in a complex
data base which is brought to the trial in
a laptop computer.
All written material is OCR and indexed.
Concepts
continued
When possible all letters and pleadings
generated by the firm, are made from
templates or forms.
This allows the client to be kept current
on the case with minimum time and
effort of the firm.
Concepts
continued
Dates and notes are made and indexed
on all documents and evidence.
This data can be retrieved instantly,
printed, displayed for the jury.
Originals are kept for the duration on
the trial in case there were a error made
during scanning.
Concepts
continued
All original documents are returned to
the client after the trial.
All scanned documents are treated as
originals by the court and are archived
on CD-ROM should there be an appeal.
All contact with the client is made by email. Phone calls are recorded and
transcribed into the data base.
Concepts
continued
Clients work very closely with the
Partner, which improves the
client/attorney relationship.
Clients like knowing what complex
litigation is going to cost before the case
begins.
Litigation cost 50 to 75 % of what the
cost are with traditional law firm.
Problems
Why don’t more firms practice in this
manner?
Traditional law firms have many
associates and partners who don’t type
or believe in the use of technology.
Every person in the firm must have
complete confidence in technology and
use it to the fullest extent.
Opportunities
With most of today’s graduating
attorneys being computer literate and
exposed to technology, they have the
opportunity to start a new paradigm
firm.
Available Software
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PC Law
Amicus Attorney
Hot Docs
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PC Law
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General Ledger
Conflict Search
General Account
Trust Accounts
Amicus Attorney
Case Management
Document Review
E-Mails
Phone Calls
Scanned Documents
Hot Docs
Probate Documents
Repetitive Correspondence
Pleadings
Interrogatives
Summation
Depositions
Documents
Correspondence
Margin Notes
Instance Search Capabilities
Summary
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