Jordan Furlong’s recent blog post, An Incomplete Inventory of NewLaw, spurred an interesting dialog on Twitter among Liam Brown, George Beaton, Jordan, and me. We discussed the size of the NewLaw market.

I reproduce, in chronological order, the relevant Tweets. Before any comments, introductions…

Liam Brown is the founder and chairman of Elevate Services, “a next generation legal service provider helping law firms and corporate legal departments operate more effectively. [It provides] practical ways to improve efficiency, quality and outcomes through consulting, services, technology and talent.” I previously worked with Liam at Integreon, a legal process outsourcing provider that he founded and grew to be one of the largest LPOs in the market. Fireman & Company, through which I consult, is a value added re-seller for Elevate’s Cael LPM(tm) software. Liam has a deep understanding of law departments, law firms, and the provider market.

George Beaton is a Partner in Beaton Capital, “a leading independent corporate advisory firm operating in Australia and Asia providing strategic and financial advice to law and other professional services firms.” He is also associated with Beaton Research, which benchmarks and researches professional services firms. George is the author of NewLaw New Rules – A conversation about the future of the legal services industry, a recent book documenting the rise of alternatives to traditional law firms. George also has extensive experience and insight into the large law firm market.

Jordan Furlong is a “lawyer, speaker, industry analyst, and consultant based in Ottawa, Canada” and blogs at law21.ca.

The market sizing Tweet stream stands on its own but I want to highlight Liam’s last Tweet here that cautions us that too much talk of NewLaw may actually slow down those general counsels ready if not eager to make changes.