In the Conclusion of his book The End of Lawyers?, Richard Susskind asks:

“Will the changes I identify bring about the end of lawyers?  Or will a new and reinvigorated legal profession emerge?” [emphasis added]

Susskind makes a very compelling case for why the legal profession is changing, but does not answer his own question.  If the legal profession is changing, then what specifically is it changing into?  What will the profession look like in 5 years, 10 years, or 20 years?  What specific steps do lawyers need to take in order to survive?

This blog is intended to respond to Susskind’s call to action and to envision what the legal profession will look like in the coming years.  What I promise to do is to chronicle my own impressions as one lawyer trying to emerge from a traditional practice as a business lawyer into something new.

Our firm is undergoing a complete change in its business model from the the ground up.  We are implementing alternative fee arrangements, virtual law office technology, online information programs, and innovative concepts for streamlining the practice of law.

I intend to write once or twice a week sharing my thoughts on where we think the legal profession is going, how the profession is changing, and what we are doing as business lawyers to adapt to those changes.  In other words, I plan to describe how we as lawyers can “emerge”. And, it is with that thought in mind, that I named this blog “The Emerging Lawyer”.

This journey of emergence is not just about me; it is about the change that all lawyers must go through to adapt to a rapidly changing world and to share ideas (or even better collaborate) with each other how we can, as Richard Susskind suggests, reinvigorate the legal profession.

I invite you to join me on this journey.  If you are a lawyer with a vision for how the legal profession (or law practice) can be improved, I encourage you to share your thoughts by commenting on this blog or by being a guest blogger.

As often repeated from Star Trek television series, our mission is “to boldly go where no man has gone before” or, in this case, “to boldly go where no lawyer has gone before”.  I invite you to join me on this mission by subscribing to this blog, and recommending this to other thought leaders in the legal profession that wish to explore this brave new frontier together.