Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Do we need lawyers? (Except as book reviewers)
Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services
By Richard Susskind
Oxford University Press, 303 pages $60
LIKE his previous work, British lawyer, author and legal futurist Richard Susskind's excellent new book will stir up a storm of controversy.
In fact, Susskind's belief in the power of technology is so strong that in late 2007, he placed excerpts of his latest book online and invited comments on it in order to test his ideas.
Susskind argues that today's market is increasingly unlikely to "tolerate expensive lawyers for tasks such as guiding, advising, drafting, researching and problem solving that can be done by less expert people, supported by sophisticated systems and processes."
The End of Lawyers? is the provocative sequel to Susskind's 1996 legal bestseller, The Future of Law. In that work, he accurately predicted that the law would be transformed by information technology.
The End of Lawyers? calls for the legal profession and its clients to think more "creatively, imaginatively and entrepreneurially about the way in which lawyers can and should contribute to our rapidly changing economy and society."
The book's title, writes Susskind, comes from his reflecting upon the notion that information technology might one day render obsolete the lawyer just as it did, say, the waxmaker.
Ten years ago, he notes, people accused him of being "dangerous and possibly insane" and wanted to see him banned from speaking in public.
Why? Because he said that email would become the principal means of communication between lawyers and clients.
Susskind's tome is easy to follow because he sums up his arguments and uses the occasional diagram to illustrate them.
His believes that if legal work can be commoditized, this means "it is routine and repetitive and can be standardized or computerized." This would eventually lower its cost to the consumer.
He offers as an example how non-lawyers can learn about law via the internet. This is not so futuristic. Court decisions can be accessed free and easily at www.canlii.com.
Susskind also observes that just as the medical profession is increasingly relying on preventive medicine, so will lawyers rely more heavily on preventive law or legal risk management.
He says that innovative law firms will develop "legal risk management tools." These firms will offer a "blend of facilities, methods, systems and services which together will focus on helping clients to identify the legal risks they face, evaluate the severity of these risks, and where necessary, take appropriate precautionary measures."
Susskind also points out that online dispute resolution is not far way. This involves mediation across the web, which "makes the most of the working potential of lawyers who prefer or must operate from their own homes."
Though this book is aimed primarily at lawyers, it is not written in legalese; Susskind's ideas are accessible and clearly written. His work is well-organized and meticulously explained.
The End of Lawyers? is a must-read for lawyers and for frequent consumers of the legal profession.
Brenlee Carrington is a Winnipeg lawyer, mediator and journalist.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 20, 2009 B7
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