As the Economist acknowledges, few lawyers in the United States will feel threatened by this global trend. Legal
practice ownership rules and the nature of the their practice insulates most U.S. lawyers from this trend.
The Economist points to two factors supporting the trend
to outsource legal services to accounting firms: an outmoded billable hour business model and lower-cost legal
services in English-speaking jurisdictions around the world. These factors allow accounting firms to provide
legal services more cost-effectively.
There is, however, another way to look at changes in the legal services industry. The billable hour is
symptomatic of an approach to client relations that is, itself, a barrier to better client engagement.
Litigation lawyers want cases and transactional lawyers want deals. Lawyers can then open files and begin
billing hours and assigning associates.
Businesses need more from their lawyers. Businesses conduct much of their work without the input, or even the
knowledge, of their lawyers. Business leaders often see lawyers as a necessary evil when a problem arises. Given
the pressure to improve margins, business will always seek out more cost-effective answers.
Lawyers should be relevant before there is a problem or a deal. Corporate counsel and outside business counsel
are often disconnected from important strategic decisions, because the business does not see them as forward
thinking, constructive contributors to the health of the organization. Of course, nothing could be further from
the truth from a lawyer's perspective. It is up to the lawyers to change the perception.
Risk management helps to create a deep and lasting relationship between the lawyer and the business.
Risk management is long the purview of accountants and insurance brokers. With the advent of ISO 31000, lawyers now have a
framework for advising clients about risk proactively. ISO 31000 is particularly useful for measuring legal and compliance
risk.
ISO 31000 framework risk is the product of likelihood and consequences. Importantly, these are not quantitative
measures. They are qualitative measurements of risk. The ISO 31000 framework establishes a consistent approach
to risk. Of particular value to lawyers is the fact that ISO 31000 can assist in the evaluation of current
cases, both litigation and transactional matters, as well as future or hypothetical issues.
Guidance on measuring and managing
legal risk with ISO 31000 is available. Lawyers in the United States can broaden the scope of their services
and deepen the nature of their relationship with business clients by delivering proactive risk management
counsel.