Our first step in imagining the law firm of 2023 was identifying criteria we and others can use to think through new law firm models. Of the many we've interrogated, here are criteria that made the cut.

01  The law firm of 2023 will only bill for insight.

The firm of the future will need just as much information as today's does — probably more. But technology will make obtaining basic legal knowledge so cheap that it will be absurd to charge clients for it. Instead, firms will establish their value by demonstrating what they can do with the information everybody already has. Read more...

02  The law firm of 2023 will transcend jurisdiction.

Jurisdiction was once a given. In 2023, it will often be a variable. To keep up, the most successful firms must be prepared to advise clients whose every action is considered in the context of the whole world. Read more...

03  The law firm of 2023 will take a stand on law's role in society.

The firms of the future will recognize the opportunities for growth they can create by carving out positions on law and justice that resonate with their brands and serve their bottom line. Then they will pursue those positions with an eye on the greater good they do for society. Read more...

04  The law firm of 2023 will redefine the rainmaker.

Every organization needs success stories. But the rainmakers of 2023 will be heroes and heroines of efficiency and creativity, not just big men who bring in the revenue. The future firm will exhibit diversity not just in race or creed, but in career paths and styles of thought. Read more...

05  The law firm of 2023 will invest in research and development.

Every organization offering legal services will need to build its own systems of learning and innovation. The choice for every firm will not be whether this is a thing they must do, but whether it is the only thing they will do. Read more...

06  The law firm of 2023 will seek not just market share, but market domination.

Think law is competitive now? In the future, a small number of firms organized around breakthrough technologies will vie to control entire market categories. Read more...

07  The law firm of 2023 will deeply understand clients' experience of the law.

New data and a consumer-centered attitude will enable a much more sophisticated understanding of where a legal matter fits into clients’  lives. This will lead to radically different ways of packaging legal services for consumers that today’s firms might not even recognize. Read more...