I have always been disappointed in reading management periodicals such as Business Week, the Wall Street Journal, or Harvard Business Review that I rarely see in-depth articles on professional services, particularly law. That may be changing with a new Harvard Law School research program.
A March 17th press release, Harvard Law School Launches Program to Examine the ‘Industry’ of Law Practice, explains that the Law School will research “the transformation of legal practice from a profession traditionally made up of small independent firms to a multi-billion dollar global business.” The initial focus will be on how corporations purchase legal services.
Just the process of observation often changes the events or practices being observed. It will be interesting to see the findings of this project, particularly as they may relate to the impact of technology on practice and law business.