Dennis Kennedy

Anthony "Biz Bang Buzz" Cerminaro makes his announcement that he is leaving his law firm to start a solo practice. Ernest "Ernie the Attorney" Svenson also made a similar announcement today.

I noticed that Tony made a passing reference to what has jokingly become known as "Kennedy's Law of Blogging" - that bloggers are highly likely to make a significant career change within about 18 months or so of starting a blog. It's my little take-off on Moore's Law.

I will note that these kinds of moves do not surprise me. Many law firms experience partner departures in the first few months of each year.

The trend that really strikes me, however, and one that should give many law firms some concern, is that it is the most tech-savvy lawyers in a firm that are often the ones who are leaving. These are often the lawyers who are the "de facto" technology committees and certainly the "go to" people on legal technology issues. They are also often the people who can work as the go-betweens between the IT department and lawyers and clients.

Departures of tech-savvy lawyers can have significant short-term and long-term consequences for law firms. This is a trend to watch. I find that most of the lawyers who know the most about technology are no longer with the firms they started with - they are now consultants, solo practitioners and doing other work related to technology. This "brain drain" from law firms bears some watching and some study.

In all events, congratulations and all best wishes to Ernest and Anthony on their new endeavors.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

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