New Approaches to Legal Services

The discord between the profession and industry reflects a distaste for traditional approaches to legal services. While licensed attorneys resist change, legal consumers demand it. The new breed of legal providers is seeking better outcomes with less money and time. This means legal services must be proactive, risk-appropriate, transparent, collaborative, and multidisciplinary. Consumer-centricity is a crucial component of the new legal services. To meet this demand, legal providers must adopt a new paradigm for delivery.

The sixth Amendment guarantees everyone the right to free legal services. The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) oversees legal aid programs in the United States. One delivery model is the “staff attorney” model, which involves hiring lawyers on salary to provide legal assistance to low-income clients. This model is similar to a public hospital’s staff doctors. It also allows lawyers to provide services in multiple languages. Legal aid providers vary in size and mission. Some focus on specific areas like employment practices or domestic violence. Other organizations take cases from across the city or state.

While the Big Four dominate the legal services market, smaller firms are starting to gain ground. In the latest report by the ALM, PwC reported that its legal services revenue grew by nearly 30% in 2016. Their legal services revenue is now nearly as large as Latham’s in 2016.