The Great Legal Reformation: Notes from the Field

It’s refreshing that this book does not simply look to advances in technology and artificial intelligence as the cause or the future of the Great Legal Reformation. Through in-depth case studies and vignettes, Mitch Kowalski takes us on a tour to meet some of the trailblazers breaking the legal service provider mould, allowing us to eavesdrop on his conversations with them. This is not a glimpse into the future of how he and others might see the legal world developing as the Great Legal Reformation unfolds. This is insight into the here and now - into what these innovators have already envisioned and achieved. These are the platforms from which yet further innovation and re-formation of the market will be driven.

From the power and opportunity of regulatory change to enable structural change, access to capital and the participation of people who happen not to be lawyers; through the need to focus on efficiency, continuous improvement, process and project management; to the enduring value of vision, culture, values, leadership, energy and employee engagement, these studies and conversations inform, reveal and challenge. They do not present the new world through rose-tinted glasses or deny the existence of risk: the story of Slater & Gordon’s mixed fortunes is testament to that. But they do show a different way of thinking and acting. Whether lawyers like it or not, these are initiatives that buyers of legal services welcome.

—Stephen Mayson ,strategic advisor to law departments, legal services providers and regulators

“This is an indispensable handbook for any aspiring legal innovator—a well-researched, accessible, and fascinating collection of dispatches from the cutting edge of legal business.”

—Professor Richard Susskind OBE, author of Tomorrow’s Lawyers

“Mitch Kowalski … shows us what the new professional world actually does look like. He takes us on a tour of Great Britain, Australia, and the United States, and introduces us to lawyers in big firms and small, serving clients both private and public. The picture that emerges is of a new breed of legal service provider that embraces entrepreneurship, teamwork and technology in a way that seems both unfamiliar and obvious to all lawyers.”

—Dr Ian Holloway PC QC, ,Professor and Dean of Law, The University of Calgary

“This book will either give you hope or a much needed kick in the pants. Either way it's a win-win.”

—Stephen Allen, , legal innovator, Hogan Lovells

“Mitch Kowalski does it again. Diving deep inside some of the world’s most innovative legal providers Mitch discovers the future of law in the present. A must read for anyone involved in the legal profession.”

—John Chisholm, leading Australian legal commentator and advisor

It’s refreshing that this book does not simply look to advances in technology and artificial intelligence as the cause or the future of the Great Legal Reformation. Through in-depth case studies and vignettes, Mitch Kowalski takes us on a tour to meet some of the trailblazers breaking the legal service provider mould, allowing us to eavesdrop on his conversations with them. This is not a glimpse into the future of how he and others might see the legal world developing as the Great Legal Reformation unfolds. This is insight into the here and now - into what these innovators have already envisioned and achieved. These are the platforms from which yet further innovation and re-formation of the market will be driven.

From the power and opportunity of regulatory change to enable structural change, access to capital and the participation of people who happen not to be lawyers; through the need to focus on efficiency, continuous improvement, process and project management; to the enduring value of vision, culture, values, leadership, energy and employee engagement, these studies and conversations inform, reveal and challenge. They do not present the new world through rose-tinted glasses or deny the existence of risk: the story of Slater & Gordon’s mixed fortunes is testament to that. But they do show a different way of thinking and acting. Whether lawyers like it or not, these are initiatives that buyers of legal services welcome.

—Stephen Mayson ,strategic advisor to law departments, legal services providers and regulators

“This is an indispensable handbook for any aspiring legal innovator—a well-researched, accessible, and fascinating collection of dispatches from the cutting edge of legal business.”

—Professor Richard Susskind OBE, author of Tomorrow’s Lawyers

“Mitch Kowalski ... shows us what the new professional world actually does look like. He takes us on a tour of Great Britain, Australia, and the United States, and introduces us to lawyers in big firms and small, serving clients both private and public. The picture that emerges is of a new breed of legal service provider that embraces entrepreneurship, teamwork and technology in a way that seems both unfamiliar and obvious to all lawyers.”

—Dr Ian Holloway PC QC, ,Professor and Dean of Law, The University of Calgary

“This book will either give you hope or a much needed kick in the pants. Either way it's a win-win.”

—Stephen Allen, , legal innovator, Hogan Lovells

“Mitch Kowalski does it again. Diving deep inside some of the world’s most innovative legal providers Mitch discovers the future of law in the present. A must read for anyone involved in the legal profession.”

—John Chisholm, leading Australian legal commentator and advisor