Legal Transformation? Mirage Turned Reality

December 2024

Abstract

For those awaiting transformation of the legacy legal delivery model, it’s been a long, frustrating wait punctuated by high hopes and dashed expectations. The Economist raised legal transformation expectations in a 2011 article featuring Clearspire, a revolutionary law firm and legal services company founded in Spring 2008. Clearespire reimagined the delivery of legal services from the client perspective. Its custom-built technology platform, fixed-fee billing model that aligned the economic interests of clients-firm-lawyers, and client access to data (work product of all firm matters undertaken on its behalf), were among its many innovations. Clearspire captured the imagination of the industry, but failed to achieve financial success.

Author

Mark A. Cohen

Chief Executive Officer, Legal Mosaic, UK

Mark A. Cohen is a global thought leader and innovator in the legal business industry. He is the CEO of Legal Mosaic (www.legalmosaic.com), a legal business consultancy; regular contributor to Forbes on the global legal industry, business transformation, and leadership strategy) where he has published more than 300 articles; Moderator/Speaker at Economist Impact events; and frequent keynote speaker at international business, legal, and technology events. He has addressed the global legal leadership teams of approximately 60 Fortune 500 companies as well as leading global law firms and foreign sovereign Bar Associations. Mark is the co-Founder and Executive Chairman of the Digital LegalXchange, a global nonprofit community of leading multinational enterprises. The Exchange’s mission is to elevate the impact of the legal function on the enterprise and its customers by aligning it with other business units. Mark was appointed by the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) to serve as its inaugural LIFTED Distinguished Scholar. He has been a Distinguished Fellow at Georgetown University Law Center and Distinguished Lecturer at Northwestern University Pritzker College of law. He has also taught at Bucerius (Germany), IE (Spain), and the College of Law (Australia). Mark has lectured frequently at leading global law and business schools including: Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, University College London, Kings College, and National University of Singapore. Mark was appointed an innaugural ALM Intelligence Fellow. Mark was a co-Founder of Clearspire, a globally acclaimed pioneer law firm/legal services company that reimagined the delivery of legal services from the customer perspective. Clearspire’s revolutionary use of technology; “two-company model,” and hybrid workforce remain cutting-edge nearly 20 years after the company’s launch. Mark has focused on “the business of law” for the past 25 years. Prior to that, he was an internationally recognized “bet the company” civil trial lawyer. He served stints as a decorated Assistant United States Attorney (Civil Division), BigLaw partner, national boutique founder and managing partner, outside General Counsel (3 excess and surplus lines insurance companies), and Federally-Appointed Receiver of an international aviation parts business. Mark is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Vassar College, the institution’s first Rhodes Scholar Nominee. He earned 3 postgraduate degrees from Oxford University as well as a J.D. degree from the University of Connecticut.

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Legal Transformation? Mirage Turned Reality

Abstract

Author

Company

Legal Mosaic

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