1. Feb 2017
Darwin Talk
Technology Targets Law:
Who Will Survive and How?
Jeff Modisett, CEO
Nextlaw Global Referral Network

2. 2Feb 2017
Growth would occur mainly among mega-firms and boutique
firms, leaving mid-sized firms as a dying breed.
The “Barbell” Effect
The legal industry is undergoing significant consolidation at the
top while becoming highly fragmented at the bottom.
mid-sized firms= dying
breed

3. 3
of the world’s lawyers are in firms with fewer
than 100 lawyers96%
of lawyers are in firms with 25 lawyers or less
75%
of all U.S. lawyers are sole practitioners
50%
Feb 2017

4. 4
Law firms are under pressure to develop new ways
to differentiate themselves and increase share of
wallet via technology and integrated services.
Feb 2017
We are now seeing an acceleration in the
introduction of new technologies - almost as if
the industry is making up for lost ground.

5. 5
The question law firms get
asked by their clients:
Feb 2017
How do we know
we’re getting our
money’s worth?

6. 6
The question in-house
counsel gets asked by its
CEO, CFO and Board:
Feb 2017
How do we know
we’re getting our
money’s worth?

7. 7Feb 2017
The legal industry in the U.S. alone represents
about $437 billion in spend with two key trends:
Source: Thomson Reuters
1. Companies taking their services in-house, including
Legal Ops
2. Outsourcing key services to non-law firms

8. 8Feb 2017
Tremendous pressure on in-house counsel not only to cut
costs, but also to justify every dollar they spend.
This pressure impacts outside law firms because they need
to justify their fees and the quality of their services like never
before.

9. 9
The Challenge
How to measure QUALITY in a standardized and objective way, and in an
approach that’s prescriptive in nature and able to guide the business?
Traditionally, legal business only knows how to measure COST.
And therein lies the challenge and source of friction between in-
house counsel and outside law firms.
Feb 2017
The Reality

10. 10
Barclay’s and Amazon have
started to give preference to
firms that can substantiate
that they are innovating,
including:
Feb 2017
1. Unbundling and
disaggregating legal
services
2. Matter project
management
3. Improved technology
solutions
4. Efficient and continuous
improvement methods

11. 11
So now law — like every other industry — is clearly a
target of disruptive technologies, even if it is one of the
last holdouts.
And much of this pressure has come from in-house
counsel.
Now there are hundreds of start-ups to assist both law
firms and clients to be more efficient in the legal world.
What are the trends?
Feb 2017

12. 12
The Darwinian theory would probably lead us to
believe that only law firms that are big enough to
have a large budget for tech will survive…
May 2016
How can a small boutique or mid-sized firm
survive as legal technology spend moves into
Artificial Intelligence and Cyber-security?

13. 13
Enter: The Nextlaw Global Referral Network
Feb 2017
Free, not pay-to-play
Is not limited to one law firm in
any one location
Uses a new technology
platform that makes it easier
and faster to find the right
lawyer at the right firm
Promotes reciprocal repeat
referrals
Provides instantaneous access
to the top talent around the
world
Allows you to market to your
clients and assist them virtually
anywhere

14. Networks like Nextlaw can help with the dilemma of
obtaining new technology necessary to survive the new
world.
14
First, Networks can educate through knowledge sharing, like everything Labs invests in,
the latest trends, the newest start-ups in legal tech, and all the new technology that is
out there or which is coming.
Second, Networks can use their power of scale and assist all interested members in
getting needed technology at an affordable price. By aggregating demand, Networks
should be able to exert purchasing power and lead to lower prices for their members.
Third, Networks themselves can look for new technologies that can be used by members
on an ad hoc basis - within the platform! No longer should small firms need to pay
millions for advanced tech when they can pay on an as-needed basis for the tech that is
accessible through the platform.
Educate
Drive Technological Evolution
Power of Scale
Month Year
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15. Thank You
Feb 2017