Comments on: Cisco turns to legal self-help and unbundling

By: Chicago IP Litigation Blog

Chicago IP Litigation Blog — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 11:49:50 +0000

Cisco’s GC Chicago Speech is Heard Around the Country…

In January, Cisco’s General Counsel Mark Chandler gave a speech at Northwestern’s Securities Regulation Institute that made major headlines. Because several in-house friends and colleagues have mentioned it to me recently, I thought it was wort…

By: shlep: the Self-Help Law ExPress » Blog Archive » friday morning quickies

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:05:02 +0000

[...] Carolyn Elefant has followed-up on her LegalBlogWatch posting (and ours) on the revolution being waged by Cisco General Counsel Marc Chandler with a piece at her solo-lawyer-oriented weblog, MyShingle. Carolyn asks What Do You Do If Your Clients Want to Lead A Revolution? Join Them, Of Course! (Feb. 1, 2007). She explains that all lawyers need to: “hear our clients’ desire to play a part in their matters, or to keep their case on a budget that they can afford (no, not what they want to pay, but what they can afford to pay). Because otherwise, we may just find ourselves supplanted, rather than supported by technology.” [...]

By: david giacalone

david giacalone — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 01:30:19 +0000

Thank you, Tim and Carolyn. I’ve been saying for a long time that technology — especially when put in the hands of frustrated consumers — has the power to make much of what lawyers do obsolete or irrelevantly expensive. Remember the Telegraph Operators Association? Or even the quaint local travel agent?

Tim, I appreciate your perspective. I envy nations where there is at least some hope of a central government acting to assure reform of the legal profession. The existence of 51 state regimes in the USA suggests that consumers will have to lead the revolution, and hope that the government follows, or gets out of the way. By the way, I just stopped IACCM’s interesting website and plan to go back soon.

By: Carolyn Elefant

Carolyn Elefant — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 00:57:43 +0000

Great post, David. It’s a reminder that pro se isn’t the same as “in forma pauperis,” and that all types – from individuals to large corporations – may want to handle their legal matters themselves.

By: Tim Cummins

Tim Cummins — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 21:57:14 +0000

As a global association that works with more than 1,500 of the world’s major corporations on contract and relationship issues, we share your view that Mark Chandler’s comments are long overdue.

In fact, outside the legally-dominated US, there is perhaps even more fundamental debate about the future of law and lawyers. In many smaller and less dominant (imperial) economies, there has been growing awareness that global inconsistency in law, its interpretation adn adjudication actually makes it a source of risk – far removed from its core intent, which is to bring a level of certainty and predictability to social relationships. The behavior of the US Governemtn and its arbitrary use of governance and regulation has added to that uncertainty – and while it may have created a field-day for lawyers, it is far from amusing for people who are trying to transact real business.

If the legal lobby was not so powerful, it would heve been transformed long ago. But as Margaret Thatcher found in the UK, it can resist attempts at transformation. What perhaps underlies Mark Chandler’s message is a far more fundamental warning. The French aristocracy was also extremely good at resisting change and believed its opower made it impervious to the growing emotions of the masses. History suggests they were wrong.

Our Association beleives that the legal profession has three choices – they can step forward and become leadersof change; they can accept and adjust to change; or they can resist and join the aristocrats in their certainty of divine right!