My post last week, State of the US Legal Market Summed Up in 3 Tweets, showed large law firms responding to flat demand by merging and cutting costs. Like last week, my current Tweets of the Week again happen to tell a story. They offer a look at another aspect of the legal market, the emerging supplements and alternatives to Big Law:

Funding for legal start-ups has soared; many target consumers but some serve corporations. Legal process outsourcing (LPO), which emerged a decade ago, is poised for rapid growth says an analyst. The Georgetown Law School Iron Tech Lawyer competition shows the value of interactive advisory systems – and that some law schools see the value of teaching new skills. Upstarts often face challenges from incumbents so I was pleased South Carolina found that LegalZoom services are not the unauthorized practice of law.

It’s truly a lucky coincidence that two weeks in a row my Tweets lined up to tell two parts of a story. And take special note of my phrase  “supplement and alternatives”. Some large law firms face risk from them as substitutes. But others embrace the opportunity they offer to improve client value and grow business.