The result is often higher productivity for the firm, and lower costs for the client, creating a win-win situation that strengthens the firm-client relationship and can result in more business for the firm.

In a recent post on the ABA’s Legal Rebels blog, Allison Guidette,  senior vp and general manager, Large Law Firm Segment, discusses how technology can help firms achieve greater efficiency.

Houston-based attorney Tim Johnson, a technology enthusiast, uses mobile solutions to improve his work efficiency while on the go and, his clients are seeing the results. Johnson, among other legal professionals, believes that mobile technology offers efficiencies that benefit both the client and the firm.   

Read how Johnson employs technology here.

How do you use mobile technology to improve efficiencies in your practice?

After a weak finish to 2011, demand for legal services was up 1.5% in the first quarter. Litigation, IP-related practices, and labor and employment continue to be positive, while transactional practices were largely flat-to-slightly down.

The current outlook remains cautious. Demand and rate growth, while positive, are still weak. And although the balance between demand and capacity is showing signs of improving, at the moment it remains a drag on law firm market performance.

A copy of the report can be downloaded here.

Serengeti Professional Services bring increased visibility, efficiency and cost savings to the legal department. Serengeti’s team of seasoned attorneys and advisors offer additional services when extra resources are needed and enhance the experience of using Serengeti Tracker to its full potential. Resources, skills and unique program knowledge empower and enhance legal departments with a set of tools, best practices and templates to assist in improving operations.

Continuing its efforts to help legal departments perform at their highest level, Serengeti developed the Serengeti Services & Solutions Partner Program to broaden its reach while offering expanded resources through unique relationships. Mosaic Consulting is the first organization to join the program and will help deepen and strengthen Serengeti’s services and support capabilities through its consulting expertise.

To learn more about each of the programs, click here.

Firms are looking for any means they can to improve efficiency, boost productivity, and deliver greater value to their clients.

A recent post on the ABA’s “Legal Rebels” blog from Lydia Flocchini, director of WestlawNext Marketing, discusses how legal research can improve legal project management.  In addition, Tom Scrivo, Managing Partner of McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP’s Newark office offers some examples of how this applies at this firm.

“We are very pleased that Jim has joined Baker & McKenzie,” said Rick Hammett, Chair of the Firm’s North American Compensation and Employment Law Practice Group. “Jim is widely regarded as one of the top ERISA litigators in the US, and he joins a strong ERISA litigation practice at our firm.  I know our clients will value his significant experience and insight, particularly in ‘stock drop’ cases, which continue to be an issue for many companies.”

Baker has frequently been cited as one of the top employment law and ERISA litigation lawyers in the US.  Of these honors, he was named as one of the nation’s top 40 best ERISA attorney’s by the National Law Journal, and listed as a leading attorney nationally for ERISA litigation in Northern California Super Lawyers (2005-2011).  For more information about James Baker joining Baker & McKenzie and further details about Baker & McKenzie’s employment law practice, click here.

An area that can increase a firm’s value, lower their legal costs and improve their competitive advantage to clients is through legal research. A legal research tool that offers substantial benefits and resources to a firm can create numerous advantages.

Lydia Flocchini recently spoke with Tom Dwyer of Dwyer/Partners, LLP a firm based in Boston, about how the legal delivery services model is changing, the benefits of a high-quality legal research tool and how technology can provide a competitive advantage in today’s market.

You can read the full interview here.

The Hildebrandt Institute’s MergerWatch Report showed 20 completed law firm mergers that involved U.S. firms in the first quarter of 2012. That represents a 43 percent increase over the first quarter of 2011, which saw only 14 completed mergers and is in stark contrast to the four completed mergers in the first quarter of 2010.

Merger activity so far in 2012 appears to build off of the increased merger activity in 2011 when the Hildebrandt Institute tracked 45 completed mergers, a substantial jump from 2010, which saw only 27 mergers.  It appears that law firm merger activity has been encouraged by signs of economic recovery.

In Medice’s post, he discusses areas where firms are focusing their efforts to tackle market challenges including, new approaches to expense management, experimenting with new business models and expanding merger and lateral activity.

The survey of more than 500 compliance professionals at financial services companies around the world  found that:

- 84 percent of compliance professionals expect to handle more regulatory information in 2012

- More than a third of respondents spend an entire working day each week staying up-to-date with regulatory changes

- 70 percent of respondents expect the cost of senior compliance staff to be higher this year

- Only 11 percent of companies expect a significant increase in their budget for compliance this year

A complete copy of the report can be downloaded here