The International Bar Association (IBA) recently published a report on the impact of COVID-19 on the emotional health of lawyers. While it would be incredibly naive to think that everything was fine pre-pandemic, COVID-19 has accelerated the instance and intensity of workplace stress amongst legal professionals.   --- SHOW NOTES NewLaw Academy: www.newlawacademy.com Email me: [email protected]  

Early-stage legaltech companies (pre-seed and seed) raised a combined US$73M globally in 12 months to 30 June 2021. According to Crunchase, there were 96 deals done during the period for an average deal size of US$760K per company, and an average funding rate of just under 2 startups per week. --- SHOW NOTES NewLaw Academy: www.newlawacademy.com Email me: [email protected]  

We recently surveyed legal innovation thought leaders, and discovered the top reasons preventing law firms - traditional laggards when it comes to change and technology adoption - from innovating.  Time and budget constraints, skill deficiencies, and risk aversion were seen as the key drivers. As Penelope Barr of Allens Linklaters LegalTech Lab put it, “Time, coupled with no compelling need to change, continue as core barriers to real innovation breakthrough”. --- SHOW NOTES NewLaw...

Since the pandemic forced law firms around the world to finally embrace remote work, more and more people are having sea-change and tree-change moments.  In Victoria’s coastal Mornington Peninsula, traditionally a popular second-home destination for wealthy Melbournians, property prices have soared by as much as 30% in the past 12 months. The peninsula’s mayor, Despi O’Connor, said that the trend in people relocating from Melbourne to the peninsular was an unanticipated outcome of the...

In a world where we can do so many things with the touch of a button or a simple voice command - get directions, play music, order a private car, order our favorite meal, set the temperature in our bedroom while we’re at the gym, and a whole lot more, people’s expectations of great customer experience has shifted.  --- SHOW NOTES NewLaw Academy: www.newlawacademy.com Email me: [email protected]  

Creating a culture of creativity is becoming a priority for organisations all across the globe, with 82% of companies believing that there is a strong connection between creativity and business results. In recent years, there has been an evident push from law firms to develop lawyers that are human-centred. IDEO partner, Rochael Soper Adranly, coined the term “human-centred lawyers” and describes them as “those who can treat legal problems as human problems, translate legal complexity into...

Post-pandemic, law firms and professional services firms are experimenting with more flexible work arrangements. The move to better ways of work is desperately needed. Gallup reported that 85 percent of people globally are either disengaged or not engaged at work. These numbers are echoed by miserable workplace stress statistics. In Australia, 46 percent of people find their workplace mentally unhealthy. These figures are nothing short of tragic when we consider that people are spending...

Undoubtedly this is a time of rapid technological transformation, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies being an increasingly core area of focus for top and mid-tier law firms in their long-term strategy. This is rightly so as leading legal academic and author, Prof Richard Susskind, views this era of change as “an opportunity for some professionals to revisit some of their working practices” in his book, “The Future of the Professions”. A Deloitte study in 2016 found about 114,000...

Technology has been hailed as one of the biggest aids to a law firm’s growth in 2018, making it a necessity in the modern law firm. Yet it’s still the top-tier law firms who remain the biggest investors in new technologies, typically centering  around Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Blockchain. 74 percent of mid-tier law firm leaders have admitted to not monitoring return on investment (ROI) on technology investments. This reactive approach has allowed top-tier law firms to lead the way in...

When it comes to doing business, we buy from people we know, like, and trust.  A solid personal brand helps us build this connection with people we haven’t even met yet, and results in more inbound opportunities and billable work.  But most lawyers rely on organic personal brand building, which extends mostly to reputational clout within existing networks, occasionally speaking at a conference, and the rare media appearance. There are many more effective methods lawyers can use to...

Is all this talk about blockchain much ado about nothing, or can this mysterious cryptographic technology actually change the way that legal services are delivered? Here at FutureLaw Academy, we think it’s a matter of when not if. In this episode, I look at five ways that blockchain technology is set to transform legal services. --- Website: www.newlawacademy.com Email me: [email protected] 

LegalZoom - the world’s preeminent legaltech company, went public on 30 June 2021. Its share price closed 35% higher at day’s end than its opening price, effectively valuing the company at US$7.35 billion. The company was founded back in 2001, and helps customers create legal documents without having to hire a lawyer. This extends to wills, trusts, business formation, copyright registrations, and trademark applications. The listing is a shining example of the power of applying automated...

As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on the working world, the nature of how we do things continues to change.  With travel limited, and with a growing number of organizations embracing fully remote or hybrid setups, traditional face-to-face business and relationship development opportunities are dwindling. But this can give lawyers, who take the time to embrace online relationship development techniques, the upper hand. Here are just eight ways you can develop relationships and keep them...

In an increasingly competitive environment, one that has been further rocked by COVID-19 and the shift to predominantly online selling, law firms and their lawyers are having to find new and novel ways to win business. In this episode, we explore just a few ways that lawyers can differentiate themselves when it comes to business development. --- SHOW NOTES NewLaw Academy: www.newlawacademy.com Email me: [email protected]  BuzzSumo: www.buzzsumo.com Crunchbase: www.crunchbase.com ...

In an increasingly competitive environment, one that has been further rocked by COVID-19 and the shift to predominantly online selling, law firms and their lawyers are having to find new and novel ways to win business. In this episode, we explore just a few ways that lawyers can differentiate themselves when it comes to business development. --- SHOW NOTES NewLaw Academy: www.newlawacademy.com NEXL CRM: https://bit.ly/nexlcrm  BuzzSumo: www.buzzsumo.com Mailchimp: www.mailchimp.com ...