Critical Issues

The rate of change in the legal profession is unprecedented in its history. In a short 100-year time span we have progressed from travelling by horse to meet a client to meeting them on the web; from court filings being documents laboriously copied by hand to filing hypertext-linked arguments containing all facts, documents, argument and the law burned onto a shiny silver disk that can only be read on a computer screen; and from producing discovery in large paper stacks to producing e-documents such as databases that have no paper equivalent. Many of these changes have – or will – profoundly affect legal practice. This article is one writer’s view of the 10 critical issues facing the legal profession.

• Dave Bilinsky 10 Critical Issues Facing the Legal Profession

Supplemental Articles
To expand on and supplement Dave Bilinsky's article, we have canvassed several subject matter experts to provide in-depth commentaries on some of the issues he has raised.

• The Financial Numbers All Lawyers (And Managing Partners) Should be Seeing by Dave Bilinsky
• Technology and the Hourly Billing Challenge by Simon Chester
• 'Ubiquity is Near', an examination of mobile technology devices by Domenic Jaar
• What's Hot in Law Firm Web Marketing by Steve Matthews
• Innovation in Leadership and Leadership in Innovation by Richard Potter, Q.C.
• Knowledge Management in Law Firms by Connie Crosby