Woman with ipad celebrating successLawyers are trained to think in ways that can be the opposite of good innovation practices. We spot issues and potential problems, with an emphasis on problems. We identify and manage risks, with an emphasis on the risks of doing new things. We focus, sometimes agonizingly, on process, procedure, and precedent. Saying that something “has

Welcome to my occasional series of posts of excerpts from my book, Successful Innovation Outcomes in Law: A Practical Guide for Law Firms, Law Departments and Other Legal Organizations. The book is available in paperback and on Kindle on Amazon.

In this chapter, I focus on the importance of coaching and mentoring and

I’m not surprised to see some significant stories recently about aggressive efforts by law departments to trim bloated lists of outside law firms and end up with leaner and more aligned panels. There are many reasons: corporate directives, economic stress, cost-cutting initiatives, reports of NYC associate billing rates topping $1,000 an hour, partners hoarding billable