The legal industry is ripe for disruption due to factors such as inaccessibility, high costs, inefficient practices, and lagging technology adoption. Alternative legal service providers are emerging that offer more affordable, efficient, and technologically advanced options. These include online legal advice, DIY law solutions, legal research tools utilizing artificial intelligence, and platforms connecting clients directly with independent lawyers. While large law firms currently dominate the market, their business model is threatened by new entrants and the potential for disruptive innovation to significantly change legal service delivery and make quality legal support more accessible and affordable.

1. DISRUPTIONS
IN BIG LAW

2. Law is a pillar
of society and
our democracy

3. $0 $50,000 $100,000 $150,000
Legal services
Misc. prof., scientific,
& tech services
Management of of
companies and enterprises
Waste management and
remediation services
Educational services
Health care & social
assistance services
Legal services had the highest labor productivity among
all U.S. professional service sectors in 2011
Source:
United
States
Interna1onal
Trade
Commission,
Recent
Trends
in
U.S.
Services
Trade
2013
annual
report

4. But the industry is ripe for change
Inaccessible to many people
Closed system of privilege
Highly complex
High cost
Bundled services
Lag to embrace technology
Toxic working culture
Low quality design
Inefficient
Wasteful

5. 80of people who need
legal services don’t
get them
Source: Ron Doolin, Research Fellow at Stanford Law School, Implementing Innovation: The Challenges to Changing Big Law
%

6. BIG LAWis at a reckoning
Noam Schreiber, The Last Days of Big Law,
New Republic, July 21, 2014
“There are many, many,
more high priced lawyers
today than there is high
priced legal work.

7. Intensity of
rivalry among
competitors
S U P P L I E R S
Bargaining Power
• Tech
op1ons
to
replace
lawyer-­‐centric
work
• Customer
centered
approach
• Strong
market
for
top
partners
• Surplus
of
talented
lawyers
B U Y E R S
Bargaining power
• Value
and
outcomes-­‐based
pricing
• Broader
in-­‐house
services
• Access
to
compara1ve
pricing
data
• Alterna1ves
to
Big
Law
• Low
switching
costs
N E W E N T R A N T S
Threat
• Use
of
tech
to
standardize
and
deliver
legal
services
• Big
Law
brand
equity
and
established
client
rela1onships
• Unauthorized
Prac1ce
of
Law
(UPL)
restric1ons
• Liberaliza1on
of
legal
services
outside
U.S.
• Fragile
financial
ecosystem
of
Big
Law
• Clients
unbundling
legal
services
• New
business
structures
• Fragmented
market
S U B S T I T U T E S
Threat
• ShiS
from
preferred
providers
to
managed
service
providers
• Increase
in
low
cost
alterna1ves
• Clients
willing
to
unbundle
legal
services
• Tech
op1ons
to
replace
lawyer-­‐centric
work
• Increased
standardiza1on
R I V A L R Y : S T O N G
• Flat
demand
for
Big
Law
legal
services
• Flat
profits
per
quarter
• Race
to
“steal”
market
share
• Compe11on
for
top
partners
• Consolida1on
among
law
firms
• Cost
reduc1on
strategies
• Greater
compe11on
based
on
price
Competitive forces facing BIG LAW global market for corporate legal services
Source: http://info.legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/signup/newsletters/practice-innovations/2014-oct/article1.aspx

8. A well-adopted theory for change
“
The breakthrough innovations
come when the tension is greatest
and the resources are most limited.
That’s when people are actually a
lot more open to rethinking the
fundamental way they do business.
Clayton Christensen
Source:
hWp://www.wsj.com/ar1cles/SB122884622739491893

9. Quality
Time
Quality
Time
Minimum
customer
need
Quality
Time
Incumbents
innovate
with
incremental
improvements
to
the
quality
of
product/service.
Focus
is
on
sustaining
the
business
model.
1)
Over
1me,
disruptors
improve
the
product/
service
with
new
technology.
The
flash-­‐point
comes
when
their
product/service
becomes
“good
enough”
for
most
customers
3)
2) Disruptors
create
new
products
or
services,
oSen
low
quality,
that
are
ini1ally
not
a
threat
in
the
market.
Incumbents:
sustaining
innova1ons
Disrup1ve
innova1ons
Minimum
customer
need
Minimum
customer
need
Source:
New
York
Times
2014
Innova1on
report
How disruption works

10. Notable disruptions
D I S R U P T E D
Cell
phones
Digital
cameras
Online
music
Movie
rentals
Car
service

11. “
It’s taken an earthquake of a recession
to expose the inefficiencies that have
long plagued large firms….
Disruptive change looms.
Mark Harris
Founder and CEO of AXIOM
Source:
How
Entrepreneurship
Is
Reshaping
The
Legal
Industry,
Forbes,
July
24,
2013

12. Big Law is changing
Making law accessible Unbundling legal services Value efficiency and quality
Lower cost solutions Customer focused Embracing technology

13. Current alternatives
Possible disruptors What Who
DIY law Low-cost solutions for business & personal legal needs Legal Zoom, Rocket Lawyer, ARAG
Alternative providers Outsource work. Services include project management.
New use of tech.
Axiom, Legal Zoom, Lawyers on Demand
Content management
solutions
Legal research, search, e-discovery, AI & machine learning, work
flow systems
Ravel, Lex Machina, Westlaw, Judicata,
Everlaw
Digital and remote delivery
of legal advice
Consumers can get legal advice online Pearl, LawDingo, LawZam
Online dispute resolution Online forums for parties to mediate Modria, eQuibbly
Service marketplaces Service providers compete for business AttorneyFee, Avvo, LawGives
Lawsuit financing Loans for plaintiff’s expenses while in litigation Oasis Finance, Lighthouse Legal
Collectives & consortia Legal market transparency Advance law, e-law forum
Source:
hWp://www.quora.com/What-­‐companies-­‐are-­‐aWemp1ng-­‐to-­‐disrupt-­‐the-­‐legal-­‐industry#

14. And startups follow…
905Legal startups listed
AngelList!
Source:
hWps://angel.co/legal
–
August,
2015

15. The best legal innovations to come, disruptive
or sustaining, will be user centered
Usable
AccessibleEngaging
Source:
hWp://www.openlawlab.com

16. We all will benefit.

17. Created by Aaron Stienstra
www.aaronstienstra.com