Thriving at the edge of chaos

AI, blockchain and the digital law firm of the future

It is based on three core messages, namely that:

• we stand not amidst but at the threshold of a wave of disruptive change, induced by dynamically interconnected impacts largely of six distinct digital technological trends, that will likely transform client legal needs over the coming decade, on a scale unprecedented in the past century (in what the World Economic Forum calls the ‘4th Industrial Revolution’)
• the law firms with sustainable economic business models in 2025 will be organised in a different way to the pyramid-shaped, people-leveraged ‘Tournament of Lawyers’ model that emerged in the early twentieth century, in response to changes induced by the last wave of globally transformational technological innovations, in the late nineteenth century
• in order to gather the intelligence required to transform their business models in tandem with changes in client legal needs, law firms need to engage in very different conversations with their clients, focused not on current needs and performance but on what their future needs might be and what competencies the firm needs to develop in order to meet them.

In a world where all but the most complex, bespoke legal work is done by advanced digital tools, true excellence will be the key differentiator. In fact, it will probably be essential for survival. This reality presents both opportunity and threat in equal measure. Our intent is to provide you with a template to think about the difficult task of transforming your firm’s business model, while maintaining acceptable economic performance through that transition.

Feedback would be most welcome. Please feel free to email me at the address below, or visit us at camstrategy.com.

My best regards,

Robert Millard
Director, Cambridge Strategy Group