Nixon Peabody LLP announced today at LegalTech New York that Pangea3 is now their preferred vendor for legal process outsourcing. Pangea3 was selected by Nixon Peabody following an extensive review of LPO providers. As a preferred vendor, Pangea3 will be Nixon Peabody’s recommended LPO provider, where appropriate, to meet its clients’ needs. Through this relationship, all of Nixon Peabody’s clients will have the opportunity to benefit from preferred pricing.
Nixon Peabody said the move was in response to client demand to reduce the risks, burdens and costs of e-discovery review.
Pangea3 was recently voted “Best Legal Process Outsourcing Provider” in the 2011 New York Law Journal Reader Rankings.
Posted by Gretchen DeSutter in:
Law firm business |
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LegalTech New York rarely surprises. It’s always at the Hilton. It’s always at the end of January / beginning of February. It’s always cold. It always features new technology.
After all the show is called LegalTech – as much emphasis on the ‘tech’ as the ‘legal.’ Most of the usual players did not disappoint: a new black box here, a triangle graph there. But a growing cadre of booths, vendors and speakers have seemingly taken a step backward. Project management? Wait, that’s not exclusively legal. And it certainly doesn’t center on technology. Has the certainty of LegalTech been replaced by chaos?
Over the last 18 months, a growing emphasis on project management has emerged from the shadows. The post-financial crisis era has brought new waves of discovery challenges. Exploding volumes of data. Proliferation of social media and cloud storage. The biggest challenge, however, is less about getting the latest tool or a “Simple” button, and more about properly utilizing the right tool(s.) A friend of mine once said that the best search engine for a box sitting in a basement is a flashlight. The push for project management may stem from greater corporate client influences or a need to protect margins or maybe the realization that Six Sigma is more than voodoo. Regardless, project management methodology appears to be this year’s common thread.
Buyers and tools/services across the show are taking note… And as I get more time to observe I’ll talk about each over the next couple days.
Temps in New York City this week are expected in the mid to high 50’s and LegalTech has a project management theme. Chaos? Not so much. But maybe a bit of surprise.
Jeff Friedman is director of marketing, Westlaw CaseLogistix
Posted by Jeff Friedman in:
Law firm business |
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Law firm mergers jumped by 67% in 2011, according to the new Merger Watch report from the Hildebrandt Institute. There were 45 mergers involving US firms in 2011, compared with 27 in 2010.
The trend is expected to continue in 2012 — the number of mergers already announced or completed so far this year has exceeded the number seen at this time in 2011.
While firms continue to remain somewhat cautious about large combinations – often preferring regional tie-ups – merger activity appears to be heading back towards pre-recessionary levels which typically saw 55+ mergers per year.
In addition, mergers outside the U.S. jumped to 54 in 2011 compared to the 44 tracked in 2010.
The complete Merger Watch report can be viewed here.
Posted by Jessica Leibrock in:
Law firm business |
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The Peer Monitor Economic Index (PMI) dropped six points to 56 in Q3. The Hildebrandt Institute report showed that demand for law firm services weakened slightly, while expenses rose, reducing law firm productivity and profitability.
Although demand for litigation services rose 1.5 percent in the third quarter, demand for transactional services such as M&A fell, due largely to volatility in financial markets.
PMI has been tracking a steady rise in expenses this year as firms have been slowly increasing their hiring. However, expenses are now growing faster than demand, reducing profitability.
A full copy of the report can be downloaded here.
Posted by Jessica Leibrock in:
Law firm business |
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As we talk with customers here at ILTA 2011, it’s clear that the unrelenting economic pressures continue to impact law firms. Firms are being challenged to run more like businesses, retain clients, grow intelligently, compete globally and focus on driving efficiencies. We’re seeing the functional areas within firms begin to collaborate more closely in an effort to address challenges and seize opportunities.
One additional emerging trend is the need for law firm leaders to have better access to insightful information. Data-driven decision making enables firms to take some of the risk out of growth strategies. We’re seeing a significant investment in information management systems and renewed interest in using SharePoint to distribute information to critical audiences.
Hubbard One is adapting its strategy and focusing efforts on helping clients navigate the complexities of law firm information in an increasing competitive environment. As one example, client reports are often cobbled together with an overwhelming amount of information from various systems and presented in a variety of formats. With the right architecture and infrastructure in place, these reports can be transformed into largely automated snapshots of easy-to-digest intelligence, which allow lawyers to absorb the information and make quick, informed decisions based on the data presented. Both client development and firm efficiency are enhanced.
The sessions and customer conversations we’ve been having at ILTA underscore the dramatic evolution that firms are undergoing. As always, we continue to be amazed by the innovations that are occurring within information and knowledge management, and by the ways that savvy law firms are applying these innovations to compete and succeed in today’s challenging marketplace.
Posted by Tim Corcoran in:
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On Wednesday morning we were lucky enough to host Ari Kaplan, a West author and professional networking guru, who took time out of his current book tour to stop at Thomson Reuters. Ari spoke about creating and building a network, the skills it takes to work the career ladder, and his new book – Reinventing Professional Services: Building Your Business in the Digital Marketplace.
Early in his presentation, Ari spoke about the importance of distinguishing yourself from competitors and exceeding expectations. He supplements this advice with an anecdote: the taxi driver who took him from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to Thomson Reuters in Eagan offered Ari a bottle of water. Ari learned that the driver buys water bottles in bulk and offers them to his customers. He said that he does this because it raises his tips by at least 20%. This taxi driver is paying attention to detail and exceeding customer expectations. Ask yourself: what are you offering that is unique? What is your bottle of water?
Ari also spoke about the increasing importance of networking and the role that technology, including social media, plays in this. Networking is about knowing who you want to meet, and being able to connect them to others. He pointed out that it is easier to share about others than about ourselves, and yet networking with another person reflects who you are.
The quality of relationships means more than the sheer number of connections one may have. Therefore being able to leverage technology to increase networking opportunities and differentiate yourself from others is increasingly important. As Ari insists, you must “be the guy with the bottle of water.”
To learn more about Ari’s new book visit the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog or the Houston Chronicle and watch for our video interview with Ari. And while we’re on the subject, what is your favorite networking tip?
Posted by Morgan Smith in:
Client development | Law firm business |
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When a law firm asks, “How are we doing?”, it can be difficult to know which performance metrics really matter.
ProLaw has put together a free white paper that looks at different metrics for measuring law firm performance. It breaks out seven different management categories that are either in common use or have been proposed by various observers in the legal market.
The newly launched ProLaw XII, which is built on .NET technology with new SQL reporting tools, provides key financial and operational metrics for monitoring firm performance – many of which can be self‐defined by the firm.
John Hanson of Elite discussing these capabilities and other features found in the new ProLaw XII in a Legal Current podcast interview.
You can listen on the player below, or download the podcast here.
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Posted by Nicole Hansen in:
Audio | Industry trends | Law firm business |
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The Hildebrandt Baker Robbins Peer Monitor Index rose again in the first quarter, a result of improving demand for legal services and law firm profitability. The PMI rose 5 points to a reading of 60, its second consecutive quarterly increase.
While law firms are slowly ramping up their hiring in response to improving demand, weak rate growth and rising expenses pose continuing challenges.
A copy of the report is available for download here.
Mark Medice of Hildebrandt Baker Robbins discusses the Q1 PMI in a Legal Current podcast.
You can listen on the player below, or download the podcast here.
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Posted by Nicole Hansen in:
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Legal Project Management can be an effective approach for firms in handling matters more effectively and efficiently. Susan Lambreth of Hildebrandt Baker Robbins discusses how proven project management principles can be successfully applied to legal work and how firms can implement project management.
You can listen to this interview edition of Legal Current podcast by clicking on the player below.
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Susan Lambreth will be leading a two-day workshop on Legal Project Management in New York, March 29-30. More information is available here.
We’re also on iTunes (just enter Legal Current in the search box).
If you have suggestions for podcast topics for us to focus on, or people to interview within the practice and business of law, send us an email to contact@legalcurrent.com.
Posted by Nicole Hansen in:
In Business | In Practice | Industry trends | Law firm business | Practice tips | Practice trends | Uncategorized |
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Nola Vanhoy, Director of Practice Innovation, Alston and Bird LLP
The legal world, and specifically information services, are changing every day – every moment. This fast-changing environment was a hot topic of discussion at today’s ARK Group conference, sponsored in part by West KM.
“Develop your passion – and then you’ll have buy in,” suggests Nola Vanhoy, Director of Practice Innovation, Alston and Bird LLP, as the best way of not just dealing with change, but LEADING your change. Nola was a participant in the “The Change Trajectory: Transforming the Flow of Information Across the Firm” session at today’s ARK Group/Managing Partner Magazine’s 5th Annual Best Practices & Management Strategies for Law Firm Library and Information Service Centers conference in New York.
Nola, along with Gina B. Lynch, National Director of Knowledge Services, Bingham McCutchen LLP, and Sarah Stephens, Chief Knowledge Officer, Sutherland Asbill and Brennan LLP, discussed their strategies for dealing with their changing trajectories, the challenges they’ve encountered in facing change, and their successes in expanding their scope and responsibilities in these changing times.
Seeking out experts, doing your homework, being ever-aware of technology, and viewing “models that work” are all a part of Nola’s successes, while building alliances, “telling [your clients] what they need and not waiting to be asked” and constantly seeking new opportunities are integral to Gina. Thinking broadly, and “beginning now to structure/do what you want” are parts of Sarah’s change-mantra.
By living these ideas and putting them into action every day, all three of these leaders and their associated firms have transformed their environments, and brought not just attention but recognition to their departments in these changing times. And recognition NOT just of their unique, customized, ever-evolving work-product, but more importantly the PEOPLE, and the PASSION that create that product, the aspect most crucial to dealing with our changing world.
Learn more about this and other ARK conference panels and discussions at http://usa.ark-group.com/.
Posted by Catherine Baroco in:
In Business | Law firm business | Uncategorized |
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The U.S. Constitution is one of the most powerful and impactful documents in existence. It literally touches every American’s life, and has since its creation in 1787. Recently, I had the opportunity to view the document first-hand as part of a new exhibit, “We the People: The First Official Printing of the U.S. Constitution,” sponsored [...]
Earlier this week, we released our 2011 Annual Report in an interactive format available online at thomsonreuters.com. Along with information on the company’s financial performance as well as business unit overviews, this year’s annual report contains a variety of dynamic content including interviews with our new business leaders as well as stories of how we [...]
We’ve got a great episode for you this month, kicking off with our “Chaos in the Courts” segment that, believe it or not, is yet another story about the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas. Since our March podcast, another person has fallen victim to the establishment’s trademark bypass burger.
Then in our “On the Blawgs” [...]
