Daily Matters: The changing face of the legal industry

Professor Richard Susskind OBE—author of Tomorrow’s Lawyers, The Future of the Professions, and Online Courts and the Future of Justice—has been writing about the future of the legal industry for decades. Now that a somewhat dystopian version of that future has arrived, Richard is again looking ahead to understand where legal is going and how it might get there.

In this episode, Richard and Clio CEO Jack Newton share a fascinating back-and-forth about the ways law firms are currently reacting to COVID-19, how they should be reacting, and how long it might take for “normal” to return. Additionally, Richard outlines the article he co-wrote with his son, Daniel, about “The Five Stages of Recovery from COVID-19.”

Professor Richard Susskind OBE is an author, speaker, and independent adviser to major professional firms and to national governments. His main area of expertise is the future of professional service and, in particular, the way in which IT and the Internet are changing the work of lawyers. He has worked on legal technology for over 30 years. He lectures internationally, has written many books—including Expert Systems in Law, The Future of Law, Transforming the Law, The End of Lawyers? Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services, and Tomorrow’s Lawyers. His work has been translated into 10 languages.

“The lawyers who are going to succeed and going to thrive are making changes right now,” says respected legal technology columnist, consultant, and startup founder Jared Correia. 

Don’t miss this in-depth discussion between Jared and Clio CEO Jack Newton, as they share deep and meaningful insights about how to be efficient while working from home; which oft-neglected business areas law firms should prioritize right now; why many law firms still don’t understand the gravity of the COVID-19 crisis; and what all this means for the future of the profession. 

Jared D. Correia, Esq. is the CEO of Red Cave Law Firm Consulting, which offers subscription-based law firm business management consulting and technology services for solo and small law firms, as well as legal institutions and corporations. A former practicing attorney, Jared has been advising lawyers and law firms for over a decade. He is a regular presenter at local, regional and national events; he regularly contributes to legal publications, including his column, ‘Managing,’ for Attorney at Work, and his ‘Law Practice Confidential’ advice column for Lawyerist; he is the author of the American Bar Association publication ‘Twitter in One Hour for Lawyers’; and he is the host of the Legal Toolkit podcast on Legal Talk Network. Jared also teaches for Concord Law School, Suffolk University Law School, and Solo Practice University.

“This is a really great opportunity to shift your mindset,” says Rachel Roche, Founder of the UK-based Wills and Probate law firm Roche Legal. The Law Society of England & Wales’ Sole Practitioner of the Year in 2018, Rachel has leveraged technology and innovative practices to put her firm in a strong position. In this episode, she talks about why the COVID-19 pandemic motivates her to identify new ways to improve her practice—and why this crisis is full of opportunity for those who are strategic and forward-thinking.

Rachel Roche is the founder of Roche Legal, an award-winning boutique law firm in York, England, handling Wills & Probate, Powers of Attorney, Court of Protection, and Missing Persons Law. Rachel is also a Commissioner for Oaths, a full member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (STEP), and of the STEP Cross-Border and Mental Capacity Special Interest Groups. She is a Full Accredited Member for Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE), from which she has received the Older Client Care in Practice Award. Initially qualified as a Legal Executive in 2007, Rachel then qualified as a solicitor in 2009, subsequently winning Sole Practitioner of the Year in 2018 at The Law Society of England and Wales’ Excellence Awards.

In a special episode of Daily Matters, Jack Newton is joined by David Lat—Founding Editor of Above the Law, Managing Director at Lateral Link, and recent survivor of an extremely serious case of COVID-19. David describes his battle with the virus, including his experience in the hospital and on a ventilator; how his perspectives on life, work, and the future of legal have shifted; the epidemic of psychological distancing; and shares the most important things he wants people to understand about this virus. 

David Lat is the founder and managing editor of Above the Law and the Managing Director at Lateral Link. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post, among other publications. Prior to ATL, he launched Underneath Their Robes, a blog about federal judges.

Before entering the media world, David worked as a federal prosecutor in Newark, New Jersey; a litigation associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, in New York; and a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. David graduated from Regis High School, Harvard College, and Yale Law School, where he served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal.

In a forward-looking episode of Daily Matters, Clio CEO Jack Newton is joined by Chris Bentley, the Managing Director of the Legal Innovation Zone at Ryerson University. In this episode, they discuss how using the cloud is now table stakes for law firms, the opportunity for firms to rethink how they deliver service, how to regularize your business to better serve your clients in the COVID-19 era, and the long term impacts on legal innovation and client behavior.

Chris Bentley is the Managing Director of the Legal Innovation Zone (LIZ) and the Law Practice Program (LPP), both housed at Ryerson University in Toronto. Chris co-founded LIZ, Canada’s first incubator dedicated to legal startups, to help deliver better legal solutions to consumers. It supports legal startups, R&D for law firms, businesses, organizations and government, and practical reform initiatives. Chris led the development of the LPP, a modern approach to lawyer licensing authorized by the Law Society of Ontario. Chris has also had a lengthy career in politics and as a criminal defense and labor lawyer and law professor.

Arun Chauhan joins the podcast from Birmingham, England, where he is the Founder and Director of niche law firm Tenet Compliance & Litigation. In his conversation with Clio CEO Jack Newton, Arun discusses what the COVID-19 pandemic has been like in the UK—particularly for small law firms like Tenet Law. He also talks about his efforts to prevent fraudulent activities during the pandemic, how law firms should be innovating now and in the months ahead, and the importance of leadership during a crisis.

Arun Chauhan is the founder and director of Tenet Compliance & Litigation, a niche law firm in Birmingham, England specializing in financial crime compliance and fraud investigation advice. He is also the deputy chair and a trustee for the charity the Fraud Advisory Panel and has helped launch the COVID-19 fraud watch group—a cross-sector and cross-industry coalition of trusted partners (including the Cabinet Office and City of London Police) who meet weekly to share information on emerging fraud threats and trends affecting businesses. Arun regularly contributes to the BBC shows Watchdog and Rip Off Britain.

In this sobering, no-holds-barred episode of Daily Matters, Jack Newton engages Keith Lee—CMO of CaseStatus and Founder of LawyerSmack—about the very real difficulties lawyers are facing right now. Keith shares his perspective on the seriousness of the economic situation facing the world and the legal community, the importance of community in navigating difficult times, and what law firms need to do to survive in the coming months.

Keith Lee is the Chief Marketing Officer of CaseStatus—a client communications management and marketing platform for law firms—and he is also the Founder of LawyerSmack, the leading private community for lawyers. A former practicing attorney in Birmingham, AL, Keith is also Founder of the legal blog Associate’s Mind, which has been recognized multiple times in the ABA Journal’s Blawg 100 since its launch in 2010, and he was a columnist for several years for Above the Law. Keith is the author of the 2013 ABA book “The Marble and The Sculptor: From Law School to Law Practice,” and he was named an ABA Journal Legal Rebel in 2019.

In this episode of Daily Matters, Clio CEO Jack Newton is joined by Master Certified Coach Terry DeMeo to discuss coaching through a crisis; how COVID-19 is enabling lawyers to get in touch with their feelings; how the coronavirus crisis has impacted the pressure on professionals; why boundaries are more important than ever; and why supporting others through this crisis starts with caring for yourself.

Terry DeMeo, J.D., is a coach, teacher, storyteller, writer, and formerly stressed-out trial lawyer who learned how to chill out and find authenticity, deep satisfaction, and happiness. She now guides others to do the same. Her personal and professional development work combines cutting-edge discoveries from social science and neuroscience with mindfulness, ancient wisdom traditions, and a little smidge of magic.

In this episode of Daily Matters, Clio CEO Jack Newton is joined by Mitch Jackson—social media luminary and Founding Partner of Jackson & Wilson—to discuss applying a service mentality in the practice of law, creating a client-centered experience from a distance, the importance of finding your clients where they are, and the tools he’s used to seamlessly transition his law firm to remote work.

In addition to Mitch Jackson being a “2009 Orange County Trial Lawyer of the Year” and “2013 California Litigation Lawyer of the Year,” he’s also one of the most well-known active trial lawyers on social media. He’s been profiled in best-selling marketing books and dozens of publications and platforms including INC., Mashable, and The Wall Street Journal. During the past several years, Mitch has presented cutting-edge business, legal, and marketing techniques at the Tony Robbins Business Mastery with his good friend, David Meerman Scott.

Mitch is the founder of the global LegalMinds Mastermind, and has written a new book, “The Ultimate Guide to Social Media for Business Owners, Professionals and Entrepreneurs,” which was a #1 best seller on Amazon and top #1 new release in two separate categories. Mitch’s friends know of him as “The Streaming Lawyer” (live video) and you can stay connected at Streaming.Lawyer.

Episode 12 of Daily Matters features T.C. Whittaker, the Law Firm Solutions Leader at PwC InsightsOfficer. In this episode, T.C. joins Jack Newton to discuss the ways PwC is advising its legal clients during COVID-19; how this financial crisis is different from any others in recent history; how law firms can understand their cash flow needs to keep money coming in the door; and why legal professionals who innovate and adopt an entrepreneurial mindset will be best positioned to emerge from this crisis successfully.

T.C. Whittaker leads a team of dedicated technologists, CPAs, and management consultants focused on solving the pain attorneys experience while running and managing law practices. PwC's InsightsOfficer leverages the latest technology to streamline bookkeeping tasks and unlock data to extract insights to help law firms operate more effectively. With PwC, firms gain new visibility into their operations and finances along with the business intelligence to determine where and how to improve. Our solution supports small-to-medium size law firms, providing access to PwC’s technology solution as well as our 100+ years of thought leadership around financial practices and business optimization.