Time Traveling in the Practice of Law

I decided something the other day. You know the saying, how time seems to go faster every year. Everyone says it, but no one believes it can happen. You just get busier, so it feels that way.

I decided I don’t believe that anymore. I think time really is moving faster than it used to, we just won’t believe it because it would upset our sense of order in a big way.

Now, I could go off on a whole philosophical diatribe about the implications of such an idea, but that’s not why I brought it up. It came to mind because, when it comes to the radical changes that are evolving in our profession, the engine’s picking up steam real fast. We’re experiencing the predictions unfold into reality more quickly every day. Isn’t that the definition of time going faster?

The other reason it came to mind is that I’ve wanted to blog about the Thomson Reuters’ Pangea3 purchase for almost a week now, and here I am, Wednesday @ 2:26 pm, hoping to get this out today. So I’m pleading the time-is-going-faster defense, and decided to do something different.

I have aggregated a series of blog post links that tell a kind of story. It’s the story of the LPO marketplace, the international business environment from which Thomson Reuter’s purchase evolved, and why it’s such a big deal. In these posts, you will find facts, opinions and insights into what is happening RIGHT NOW, how it affects you and some predictions for what’s to come.

• Metamorphosis: 5 Forces Transforming the Legal Services Marketplace – Jordan Furlong
• Has the UK’s Tesco Law Changed the Profession Forever? – Rory Webber
• Combating the Tesco Law (Slide Share) – Michael Scutt
• The LSA: Opportunity of Threat? – Michael Scutt
• Solicitors Believe ABSs Will Create More Opportunity – Rachel Rothwell
• Law Firms Feel Pressure from New Breed of Competitors – Gina Passarella
• Sarah Beeny Backs ABSs but Warns of Challenges to Firms and Regulators
• The Law Firm of the Future: Thomson Reuters – Jordan Furlong
• Thomson Reuters Competes with Its Customers? – 3 Geeks & a Blog
• Hildebrandt and the Thomson Reuters Acquisition of Pangea3 – Global Legal
• Lawyers Have Incredible Lack of Interest in Changing Marketplace – Patrick Lamb

I’ve included the last post because it is true, and the perfect proof is the lack of response to the Thomson Reuters deal. The business world is busy making end-runs around law firms and the piece of the information marketplace they have so successfully guarded all these years. And if you think the first (or second or third) draft of Tesco-like legislation for the US isn’t sitting on someone’s hard drive (or cloud server) as we speak, think again. From chaos emerges opportunity, and what a great opportunity the legal services delivery market has become!