January 2000

CHANGE: It's Not a Choice

by Jan Michels
WSBA Executive Director
janm@wsba.org

Only a person who sees the future can seize it. That was the theme of a two-day futurist conference that WSBA President Richard Eymann and I attended. The speakers were world-renowned portenders of the future: Tom Peters, Gary Humel, Roberta Katz, Malinda Brow (Lotus General Counsel) and Barrie Melancon (CEO of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants). There were prolific notes, notebooks, books and summaries prepared by the speakers and attendees; most will soon be available on the Web (http://www.futurelaw.com/).

The problem, as I see it, is the same problem the futurists talked about — too much information. The dilemma: how to sort it into "what is relevant to me today" and "what should I know and do, right here and right now"? The challenge: to accommodate and cope with the swiftly changing norms of this new information age. Following is my best effort to relate the content of the presentations.

NEW NORM: No Command, Intelligence, Argument, Rationalization, Logic, Plea or Prayer Can Stop this Change

The change from the industrial age to the information age is as tumultuous as was the change in the 19th century from the agrarian age to the industrial age. We are less than half way into the massive social and economic changes that produce the shifting base of how we work and live. We are becoming a knowledge-based world. Everyone with a computer and an Internet connection has access to all the raw knowledge that used to be the market base of an educated elite. Databases, spreadsheets, decision grids, step-through "how-to" programs and websites are making it easy for consumers to help themselves to services and advice. Many services that used to be intellectual capital for doctors, lawyers and accountants have become commodities accessible or purchasable without professional intervention. The concept is called commodification.

Reinvent law practice to be consumer driven. Package services around the commodity of forms packages, do-it-yourself wills, Internet divorce kits and instruction kits. Add the value of innovation and judgment to commodities.

NEW NORM: Talent, Nimble Thinking, Creativity and Innovation are the Market Values of the Future

Incumbency and history are no longer important; heritage is no longer destiny. The market is going to those who innovate new ways to get the consumer what they want. Cottage industries in information brokering, funneling and packaging are hot. "Stare decisis" is a dangerous enemy of adaptability to the future. The "client environment" is very different from firm and law school dynamics and education. A serious problem is that the law profession does not attract or retain the creative innovator.

Become a novelty addict. Find ways to include, in strategic thinking, wide swaths of diverse groups in age, culture, goals and points of view. Don't discount foreign ideas. Adapt to new market pressures rather than resist them.

NEW NORM: The Internet is Ruler

Unique and new types of relationships, both social and economic, exist on the Net. The Internet removes the need for a third party between the consumer and service, whether the service is advice, purchasing, information brokering or referral. The Internet has also created a habit of immediacy; it has opened the public to the expectation that they have a right to all the information they desire — and it should be free! This has demystified the law, medicine and other professional knowledge bases. Lawyers who have banked on the mystique of the law and have seen their roles as cornering certain information will find themselves without their unique edge and identity.

Get to understand the religion/philosophy/economics/culture of the Internet. Nothing beats getting out there! Listen to 20-year-olds who have grown up with these new norms; talk about their expectations and service needs. Enunciate the real value which lawyers represent.

NEW NORM: Flex-time, Flex-place and Virtual Firms Will Meet Consumer Demands

Future viability will require adaptability, ditching the concepts that clients must come to the lawyer, that hours measure value, that a traditional day meets consumer demands, and that consumers will wait for services.

Lawyers must move toward "24 x 7" (24 hours a day, seven days a week) presence and availability. They must develop a sense of urgency to their practice, add excitement and spirit to their customer relations and marketing techniques.

NEW NORM: Looking Backward, Circling the Wagon; Protectionistic or Monopolistic Thinking Will Put Others into the Driver's Seat for the Future of the Practice of Law

Consumer demand will drive what the future of law practice looks like. Consumers are done with mystique, monopolies, patronization and rigid forms of service delivery. They will take their business to those lawyers and firms that ask them, "How can I help you solve this problem?" and offer, "Here are possible tools; let's see what fits," and "Here is how you can save yourself some money," or "Here is a place to get other information."

Define what lawyers do to protect rights and resolve disputes. Be clear and simple about how that can be done. Unbundle total representation into component parts. Be flexible and forthcoming about what consumers can do themselves and what value a lawyer can add. Avoid giving the impression that "only a real lawyer can do that," or "just let me handle it; you don't need to understand or participate."

NEW NORM: Consumers Will Become Their Own Middle Person and Drive the Market Directly

Consumers are developing the Internet habits of finding their own information, customizing their product requests, and choosing from a vast array of places to do business. They are skipping car dealers, bookstores, libraries and professional offices in favor of direct source information and products. They don't want or need "relationships" with service or product vendors unless the relationship with a person adds value to the product.

Reinvent how legal services are offered. Package them; customize them; offer bundles, options and choices to consumers for flat rates. Encourage consumers to participate in tailoring a legal package that will meet their needs at the lowest possible cost.

Can we, together, seize the future before the future norms seize the profession?

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