Updated to add a link to the new Bloomberg Big Law Business post with 17 quotes from Aric Press.

Aric Press, the former Editor-in-Chief at ALM, is now a partner at at Bernero & Press, and was recently interviewed by Bloomberg Big Law Business. It’s a fascinating conversation that offers nuances about Big Law and how it operates.

 

Press was my boss (twice) at ALM, where I was the Editor-in-Chief of Law Technology News. We both arrived at the New York City office in 1998 and we both left ALM within three months of each other: He in December, 2014; I left in February 2015. Press was a fantastic leader. He guided ALM’s legal journalism team with integrity, wisdom, grace, determination, compassion and  passion—and he had a wicked sense of humor. He made all of us better journalists and better people. It was a great ride.

At Bernero & Press, he now sees Big Law from a new lens, and it continues to be intriguing. Press was interviewed by Josh Block and Casey Sullivan on June 2, the podcast aired on June 20. The three discuss a wide range of topics, from Press’ early career, to The American Lawyers’ always-controversial Big Law rankings, to diversity and his current work as a consultant.

Check out: “Aric Press on Legal Journalism, Law Firm Ranking & His Career”  and  “TFW Dewey Execs ‘Lied’ and 16 More Quotes from Our Aric Press Postcast.”

 

 

Solving Big Law’s Gender Gap

David Perla, president of Bloomberg Law and its BNA Legal devision, writes a compelling essay at Above The Law about the Big Law gender gap between men and women. In his May 31 essay, he notes “The time has passed to get mad about the gender gap. But the time has not passed to do something about it. Fortunately, an influential contingent of the Biglaw community will be gathering at Stanford next month to do just that.”

The gathering on June 23-24 was the Women in Law Hackathon, co-sponsored by Bloomberg Law and Stanford Law School, with prizes of $10,000, $7,500 and $5,000 for the winning team’s choice of non-profit organizations advancing women in the legal profession and beyond.

 

 

 

Voting with their feet

Mark A. Cohen reports that “Corporate Legal Departments Are Voting With Their Feet—And Then Some” in a June 16 post. “The degree of dissatisfaction [with their lawyers] is significant,” he notes. “A recent study by BTI Consulting reveals ‘Only 40.1% of clients recommend their primary law firm to a peer, after the second biggest drop on record last year, when 33.3% of clients recommended their primary law firms.’”

 

Why it is important to understand Big Law?

If we are going to change the legal industry with fresh technology and ideas, we must understand the the existing problems and barriers in the legal profession—especially in Big Law. CodeX attracts a wide range of people—at various stages of their careers.

If we want to build technology that will help provide better, faster, cheaper and transparent tools—we must understand the nuances of how all lawyers work now.  Of course, Big Law isn’t All Law. But if we understand how Big Law works, thinks and acts, we can better understand how we can be change agents. Remember: Change can surprise us—it can be very very slow or lightning fast. So let’s get all the knowledge ammunition we can absorb.

Watch for more posts about Big Law. And help us all understand the nuances.  If you would like to contribute a post, ping me!

Monica Bay is a CodeX Fellow and a member of the California bar. She is a freelance analyst and journalist (including Bloomberg Big Law Business and as a columnist at Above The Law.)  @Monica Bay  Email: mbay@codex.stanford.edu.

Cover image: Clipart.com