Law Practice 2020 is the theme of the May/June Issue of GPSOLO Magazine and I would be telling you that you need to read this one from cover to cover even if it didn't include my guest GP Mentor column, "The Future Ain’t What It Used to Be," which is targeted to new lawyers. I doubt you will be able to read it all at one sitting, or even quickly, as it contains a lot of information to absorb and contemplate.
"How Technology Is Changing the Practice of Law" is a great thought-provoking piece from Blair Janis. It contains many important observations and quotable phrases. Moore's Law and artificial intelligence both impact your future. Blair explains how and highlights the "tension between the risk aversion in the legal profession and the ever-changing expectations and demands of legal service consumers."
There are many different tools for communication available today. "How to Choose the Right Tools for Any Client Communication" by Wells H. Anderson and Seth G. Rowland outlines today's tools and discusses the benefits and drawbacks of each.
"Online Paper Mills: Are They a Threat and How Do We Compete?" By David Hiersekorn is worth reading. Many of these online services target traditional clients of solo and small firm lawyers with what lawyers view as a lower quality product compared to the lawyer's services.
"Road Warrior: Shades of Nostradamus" by Jeffrey Allen is a great read for the mobile lawyer. And if you haven't yet figured it out, we are (almost) all mobile lawyers these days.
There are two articles about law firm security: "Cyberthreats and Defenses" by Sharon D. Nelson and John W. Simek" and "More Than a Locked Door: Law Firm Security" by Natalie Kelly, Daniel J. Siegel & John W. Simek. (This is a slightly abridged version of this article from Law Practice Magazine.) Your attention is also directed to "Working with Corporate Clients in the New Legal Landscape" by Alan Nathanson and "To Boldly Go . . . Outsourcing to Virtual Paralegals" by Pamela J. Starr.
Not all of the articles are persuasive. "Restore Access to Justice Through Limited License Legal Technicians" by Steve Crossland still fails to convince me that the Washington state LLLT plan can protect the public as well as other ideas or will ultimately reduce costs to consumers.
There is a lot more to this Law Practice 2020 issue of May/June Issue of GPSOLO Magazine. Spend some time with the free online version of the magazine if you are not a subscriber.