I am a champion of the tenets of Law 2.0, which drive greater efficiency, accountability and cost-effectiveness in the practice of law to the benefit of consumers of legal services. In my view, Richard Susskind’s book, Tomorrow’s Lawyers, should be required reading for all law firm leaders. Law firms that are guided by this inexorable trend will adapt and continue to thrive, while those that cling to the way of doing business from 20 years ago will be casualties of legal Darwinism.

Equally clear in my opinion is that blind reliance upon cost-savings solutions conceived by technologists, who may have never practiced law, is fraught with danger. Years ago when several institutional clients launched task-based billing, I was shocked to learn that there was no code for an office conference; such fraternization was verboten. I have speculated that the impetus for this prohibition may have been a cartoon featuring four or five lawyers clustered about a coffee machine discussing a deal, while billing the client thousands of dollars an hour for doing so.