The Smarter Business Model

The Smarter Legal Model: more from less is the title of a book by Trevor Faure (Global General Counsel and Partner, Ernst & Young Global), published this month by Practical Law Company. According to the promotional literature

"The legal profession is under fundamental examination as a result of the unprecedented impacts of globalization, financial pressures, trans-territorial laws and instantaneous global communications, amongst others. The imperatives to perform as both commercial and compliance leaders have never been higher.

The Smarter Legal Model is a practical "toolbox" of complementary methodologies which have been applied on a multi-million dollar scale and proven to:
- Increase legal coverage by maximizing individual potential
- Reduce legal costs
- Improve both compliance and client satisfaction at the same time
- Replace the traditional law firm-client tension with a mutually-profitable partnership

The Smarter Legal Model applies world-class business and behavioral principles such as six Sigma, return on invested capital, zero-sum game theory and neuro-linguistic programming to the practice of law for the first time with tangible results. Recently reported benefits of the Model include a 27% reduction in legal fees, a 60% reduction in litigation volume and demonstrable improvements in client satisfaction. The Smarter Legal Model will be of use to in-house lawyers, private practitioners and even professionals from non-legal disciplines. It is being taught at Harvard Law School as part of its program on the legal profession and was also the subject of two Harvard Law School case studies in 2009".

I have not yet had a chance to read and review this book, but will do so with great interest since its author is not without familiarity with the cost of the legal system as it applies to intellectual property rights enforcement and management, having spent some years gaining practical experience in the field of copyright in the recording industry before changing the direction of his career.