Ahead of the Curve
October 2021
PURPOSE
The Professional Development Advisory Committee’s (PDAC) purpose in providing you this communication is to further its goal of periodically sharing topical information regarding the legal industry. Our hope is that one or more of the updates will provide a spark of insight to assist with your work on behalf of ALA as well as within your firm or legal department.
Past Issues
"LAW FIRMS STILL BELIEVE THEY HAVE A CLEAR ADVANTAGE OVER ALSPS. THEIR CLIENTS ARE STARTING TO FEEL DIFFERENTLY."
For now, law firms still have an edge over their less traditional competitors. But there's evidence to suggest that could be gradually changing.
Learn more.
Resource: Zack Needles, Law.com (requires free subscription)
"GARTNER: 12 TECHNOLOGY TRENDS FOR 2022 AND BEYOND"
The way back toward sustainable profits and expansion starts with technology investments as chief information officers are expected to create robust and resilient IT organizations.
Learn more.
Resource: Roberto Torres, CIO Dive
"HOW TO DIGITALLY ACCELERATE DURING CRISIS FATIGUE"
Crises are disrupting all business plans and triggering enterprises to review their purpose. This, in turn, increases symptoms of fatigue among employees, and the IT organization is not immune.
Learn more.
Resource: Mary Mesaglio, CIO Dive
"ARE VIRTUAL OFFICES HERE TO STAY?"
The virtual law office — once a niche curiosity reserved for sole practitioners and a fraction of traditional firms — suddenly flowered, forced by necessity out of high-rise towers and into personal homes in the dark, uncertain pre-vaccine days. “End of the Law Office as We Know It?” wondered the Daily Business Review in Miami, pointing to firms that have downsized or abandoned their shops in favor of the work-from-home model. “We’ve evolved 10 years in six weeks. I don’t mean my firm, but the market. That’s how dramatic of an effect it’s had,” one law firm chief information officer told Law.com.
Learn more.
Resource: John Roemer, ABA Journal
