Print This Article

A few years ago, talk of e-lawyering, MDP, seizing the future, Internet delivery of legal services, and virtual law firms dominated the discussion of the twenty-first century practice of law. With the dot-com implosion, a meltdown of the move of big accounting firms into the law, the substantial increase in minimum billable hour requirements, and the inherent conservatism of law firms, you might think that these topics have disappeared from the discussion table. That is not quite the case, but you do have to look a little harder.

The ABA’s Law Practice Management Section, with its Law Practice magazine, Law Practice Today webzine, the ABA TECHSHOW and the work of various committees, is a primary resource for information, developments and efforts being made to move the legal practice forward into the future. Legal weblogs (or blawgs) also cover this subject well. Here are some of my other favorite Web sites on innovative and forward-thinking initiatives in the practice of law:

The DuPont Legal Model - http://www.dupontlegalmodel.com - DuPont’s efforts to change the way its law firms deliver services has been carefully watched for the last ten years. In the last few years, the results have gotten quite interesting. One reason is that technology is now able to deliver performance in ways that were only imagined a few years ago. DuPont has created a Web site that collects materials related to their efforts. Lawyers working with corporate legal departments should become very familiar with this site.

eLawyerblog - http://www.elawyerblog.org - Legal Internet guru Jerry Lawson has created a multi-author blog focused on elawyering and a variety of other new approaches to the practice of law. Jerry has put together a stellar group of guest authors and this is a place to watch.

Elawyering.org – http://www.elawyering.org – The elawyering.org site is an excellent collection of resources and materials on new, largely Internet-related approaches to the practice of law. Among other things, it has important articles from thought leaders and links to some of today’s efforts.

Unbundledlaw.org – http://www.unbundledlaw.org – An approach to law practice that has attracted a good amount of interest is the notion of “unbundling” services. Unbundling can mean very precise, limited representation or even providing specific services where a firm has expertise, such as litigation graphics. This site is a great resource on this specific issue.

Netlawyers Discussion Group – http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Network-Lawyers/ – This discussion group facilitates discussion and educational programs among some of the thought leaders in the innovative practice of law. It is a high-quality, relatively low-volume list, with lots of good ideas.

Digital-Lawyer.com – http://www.digital-lawyer.com – Richard Granat is one of the leading thinkers on new approaches to the practice of law. His Web site showcases some of his writing and efforts.

Futurelawoffice.com – http://www.futurelawoffice.com – From the legal staffing company, The Affiliates, comes a good resource with a very practical focus and interesting materials.

TomPeters.com - http://www.tompeters.com – Tom Peters is one of the best known experts on innovation. He writes and speaks about innovation in the professional services industry on a regular basis. His site, including a newsletter, gives you a way to access his materials and current thinking.

DailyWhirl.com – http://www.dailywhirl.com – The DailyWhirl site gives you an easy way to find and follow most of the leading legal blogs.

DennisKennedy.com - http://www.denniskennedy.com – My site has long collected my articles and resources on legal technology and innovative practices. My blog often reports on new developments. My “Fully Connected Law Firm” article sets out 150 practical pointers and action steps for law firms moving their practices more fully into the Internet era.

You may not be hearing as much as you did a few years ago, but there is still an important conversation going on. This list will help you catch up and keep current with this conversation.