Page 92 - The Handbook - Law Firm Networks 2018
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The Handbook: Law Firm Networks
Members are able to register the value and contribute further to use of the information. A simple example is
when a website visitor indicates that a publication is interesting. The best-liked publications can be placed on
the website, and future users, by clicking on the article, will effectively increase its popularity.409
Networks can piggyback on LinkedIn by developing sub-networks or groups. They can also develop
software similar to Facebook or LinkedIn for their members. Using this technology, professionals build their
own groups, join others groups, communicate, and develop relationships based upon any criteria.410 As with
any social or business network, the relationships within the network become three-dimensional. For example,
when a member registers for the annual meeting, he/she will receive a confirmation of it from the network.
They may also receive a “thank you note” from the sponsors. The registrants’ photos and links to their
resumes will appear on the meeting roster. The roster allows the registrants to see the names of others who
will be present, creating the opportunity to set up meetings with one another. They can also automatically
add others to their list of contacts on the website. This is an organic network.
Over time, these third types of communications and information exchanges will have a profound effect on
the network.411 The professionals will now be evaluated not only because they are the primary contacts, but
also because they have particular experience and expertise.412 This will eventually elevate the status of all
professionals in the network. It accounts for the demographic changes taking place and the use of technology
by the next generation of professionals.
The same technology can be used with non-members who can become part of the network through
subscriptions to network publications. They may be able to join private groups with other outside
professionals. While the relationships will not be identical, the objective is the same: to create and encourage
interaction.
The last aspect of technology is that it is not dependent on a network’s level of development. The structure of
the network does not affect the use of its technology. Of course, the more developed the networks are, the
more likely they will be to use advanced technology.
409 The Lawyer magazine does this in its article emails. The most popular articles appear in a list, which then attract more readers to the articles and
then to the website. THE LAWYER, www.thelawyer.com/ (last visited Feb. 6, 2016).
410 “This is described in DuPont’s law department use technology to create a virtual law firm, by fostering collaboration among its in-house staff, its
outside law firms, and its service providers. Although the intricacies of technology are key to this endeavor, we will focus here on the soft-and, for the
most part, unstudied and often ignored-side of technology. We will look at how companies can use technology to increase coordination, teamwork,
and, ultimately, collaboration by independent firms in support of their common client. We will offer a roadmap for corporate counsel who would like
to travel this path and describe the factors that in our experience have driven greater collaboration among corporate law departments and their outside
firms. Although the intricacies of technology are key to this endeavor, we will focus here on the soft-and, for the most part, unstudied and often
ignored-side of technology. We will look at how companies can use technology to increase coordination, teamwork, and, ultimately, collaboration by
independent firms in support of their common client. We will offer a roadmap for corporate counsel who would like to travel this path and describe
the factors that in our experience have driven greater collaboration among corporate law departments and their outside firms.
“The virtual law firm connects lawyers electronically and culturally. Through the use of applied technology, such as extranets, integrated case
management software, computerized databases, electronic invoicing software, document imaging, cell phones, personal digital assistants, and trial
presentation software, team members in different geographical locations can perform legal work efficiently and cost-effectively in a shared
environment. But this technology still depends on the human element and on the willingness of committed participants to implement and use it
constructively in furtherance of an articulated vision and clear goals. In a virtual law firm, participants must share a common culture.” DuPont Legal
Model, supra note 378.
411 Van Alstyne, supra note 9, citing K. Crowston & T. Malone, Information Technology and Work Organization, in HANDBOOK OF HUMAN-
COMPUTER INTERACTION 1051-1069 (M. Helander, Ed. 1988): “IT makes the enforcement of (network) rules both easier and less necessary due to the
immediacy of feedback.”; see also J. Pfeffer, Power in Organizations, HARPER BUS. 391(1981).
412 Id., citing L. M. Applegate et. al, Information Technology and Tomorrow's Manager, HARV. BUS. REV. 128, 128-136 (1988): “Strong links can
potentially flatten organizational hierarchy first by enabling redistribution of resources, decision rights, power and control and second by attenuating
status distinctions. Cues marking age, race, gender, and dress might not accompany non-verbal communication.”; see also H. C. Lucas & J. Baroudi,
The Role of Information Technology in Organizational Design, 10 J. OF MGMT. INFO. SYS. 9, 9-23 (1994); see also S. ZUBOFF, IN THE AGE OF THE
SMART MACHINE (1988); see also J. Rockart & J. Short, The Networked Organization and the Management of Interdependence, in THE
CORPORATIONS OF THE 1990S 189-216 (M.S. Morton, Ed. 1991).
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Members are able to register the value and contribute further to use of the information. A simple example is
when a website visitor indicates that a publication is interesting. The best-liked publications can be placed on
the website, and future users, by clicking on the article, will effectively increase its popularity.409
Networks can piggyback on LinkedIn by developing sub-networks or groups. They can also develop
software similar to Facebook or LinkedIn for their members. Using this technology, professionals build their
own groups, join others groups, communicate, and develop relationships based upon any criteria.410 As with
any social or business network, the relationships within the network become three-dimensional. For example,
when a member registers for the annual meeting, he/she will receive a confirmation of it from the network.
They may also receive a “thank you note” from the sponsors. The registrants’ photos and links to their
resumes will appear on the meeting roster. The roster allows the registrants to see the names of others who
will be present, creating the opportunity to set up meetings with one another. They can also automatically
add others to their list of contacts on the website. This is an organic network.
Over time, these third types of communications and information exchanges will have a profound effect on
the network.411 The professionals will now be evaluated not only because they are the primary contacts, but
also because they have particular experience and expertise.412 This will eventually elevate the status of all
professionals in the network. It accounts for the demographic changes taking place and the use of technology
by the next generation of professionals.
The same technology can be used with non-members who can become part of the network through
subscriptions to network publications. They may be able to join private groups with other outside
professionals. While the relationships will not be identical, the objective is the same: to create and encourage
interaction.
The last aspect of technology is that it is not dependent on a network’s level of development. The structure of
the network does not affect the use of its technology. Of course, the more developed the networks are, the
more likely they will be to use advanced technology.
409 The Lawyer magazine does this in its article emails. The most popular articles appear in a list, which then attract more readers to the articles and
then to the website. THE LAWYER, www.thelawyer.com/ (last visited Feb. 6, 2016).
410 “This is described in DuPont’s law department use technology to create a virtual law firm, by fostering collaboration among its in-house staff, its
outside law firms, and its service providers. Although the intricacies of technology are key to this endeavor, we will focus here on the soft-and, for the
most part, unstudied and often ignored-side of technology. We will look at how companies can use technology to increase coordination, teamwork,
and, ultimately, collaboration by independent firms in support of their common client. We will offer a roadmap for corporate counsel who would like
to travel this path and describe the factors that in our experience have driven greater collaboration among corporate law departments and their outside
firms. Although the intricacies of technology are key to this endeavor, we will focus here on the soft-and, for the most part, unstudied and often
ignored-side of technology. We will look at how companies can use technology to increase coordination, teamwork, and, ultimately, collaboration by
independent firms in support of their common client. We will offer a roadmap for corporate counsel who would like to travel this path and describe
the factors that in our experience have driven greater collaboration among corporate law departments and their outside firms.
“The virtual law firm connects lawyers electronically and culturally. Through the use of applied technology, such as extranets, integrated case
management software, computerized databases, electronic invoicing software, document imaging, cell phones, personal digital assistants, and trial
presentation software, team members in different geographical locations can perform legal work efficiently and cost-effectively in a shared
environment. But this technology still depends on the human element and on the willingness of committed participants to implement and use it
constructively in furtherance of an articulated vision and clear goals. In a virtual law firm, participants must share a common culture.” DuPont Legal
Model, supra note 378.
411 Van Alstyne, supra note 9, citing K. Crowston & T. Malone, Information Technology and Work Organization, in HANDBOOK OF HUMAN-
COMPUTER INTERACTION 1051-1069 (M. Helander, Ed. 1988): “IT makes the enforcement of (network) rules both easier and less necessary due to the
immediacy of feedback.”; see also J. Pfeffer, Power in Organizations, HARPER BUS. 391(1981).
412 Id., citing L. M. Applegate et. al, Information Technology and Tomorrow's Manager, HARV. BUS. REV. 128, 128-136 (1988): “Strong links can
potentially flatten organizational hierarchy first by enabling redistribution of resources, decision rights, power and control and second by attenuating
status distinctions. Cues marking age, race, gender, and dress might not accompany non-verbal communication.”; see also H. C. Lucas & J. Baroudi,
The Role of Information Technology in Organizational Design, 10 J. OF MGMT. INFO. SYS. 9, 9-23 (1994); see also S. ZUBOFF, IN THE AGE OF THE
SMART MACHINE (1988); see also J. Rockart & J. Short, The Networked Organization and the Management of Interdependence, in THE
CORPORATIONS OF THE 1990S 189-216 (M.S. Morton, Ed. 1991).
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