What is BigLaw - A Rebellion & Legal Industry Disruption Is Born
Why should you choose Mediation & Contract Law, PLLC and what sets us apart really? It’s a legitimate question with a specific answer that I need to communicate to the world.
I know what you may be thinking at first glance: “Uhm, cool, you’re a ‘virtual’ law office. Why does that matter and what’s in it for me?” Let’s flesh that out.
First let’s begin by defining the commonly used phrase of ‘BigLaw’ and discuss why it’s relevant to the conversation. According to the National Law Review:
[BigLaw is a nickname used to refer to the largest firms in the legal field and is included and ranked annually on the AMLAW 100. These firms often have hundreds or even thousands of attorneys on staff. Large law firms usually have offices in multiple locations and provide their clients with various legal services.]
Ambitious law students are sometimes groomed to think that this is the natural career path, and it is held up on pedestal of what I think is disingenuous ‘prestige’. Yes, you will have A LOT of Ivy League grads fill the ranks. However, as many of you know, college is not the tell-all of what defines success no matter the pedigree. Some of the most successful people in the world were college dropouts, for example. Some of the most successful athletes were relatively unknown in college or went to sub-par programs (See Tom Brady)
However, in the legal industry this is worn as a badge of honor for many lawyers or even from the outside looking in for those non-lawyers familiar with our field. According to Alex Su (a former BigLaw associate and fellow attorney that I very much so admire):
[The biggest surprise to me as a young associate was how much time I spent doing tedious, annoying tasks, like reviewing documents, checking for typos, or building chronologies. I’ll call it sh*twork. I get why sh*twork needs to be done but it’s not why I went to law school. What I didn’t understand then, that I do now, is that there’s virtually unlimited demand for sh*twork.
Every legal matter only has a limited amount of “real work” that needs to be done by a lawyer. Like prepare witnesses for depositions, come up with arguments for your case, or actually going to trial. So the demand for “real work” is quite limited. Especially compared to sh*twork.
That’s because you can justify an unlimited amount of sh*twork for any given matter. The more sh*twork you generate, the more money the firm makes. That’s how you end up in a situation where a bunch of junior associates run around building charts, reviewing documents, or my personal favorite—checking documents for typos and formatting issues. None of these things have a real impact on the case.]
You get the drift. Clearly this is a problem in the legal industry, and I’m deliberately going out of my way to disrupt this archaic billable hour model. Its lack of authenticity, necessity, or convenience has gone on for a bit too long.
We live in an interconnected world brought on from advanced technology. Kids and Adults are more connected than ever before, and we live in an age where all information is readily available at our fingertips. For most people, hiring a massive law firm or even a medium sized law firm with a large staff, is both expensive and impractical. Especially if you understand the inner workings of the billable hour model.
Now, there are exceptions to this of course. A publicly traded fortune 500 company may very well need the BigLaw depth for complex litigation matters, and they’re able to eat the unnecessary billable hour costs in exchange for getting the royal treatment by the firm and it’s top partners on their matter (e.g., Meta). They aren’t getting the young guys (they’re pushing paper sh*twork); they’re getting the top dogs within BigLaw. In effect, they get top results saving them / earning them millions.
But most people, or business owners, aren’t fortune 500 companies with hundreds of thousands of dollars available to spend on attorney fees. Even many large scale and medium scale businesses in the US cannot afford that luxury. The small businesses certainly can’t. In the past, the idea of going to a solo practitioner or smaller firm was almost looked down upon. Now, it can be a strategic advantage. People realize through the information age of what the truth holds in our world; this includes the legal industry. Some of the best attorneys are “specialists” in their area with personalized skillsets, and these guys/girls are formidable opponents putting larger firms on their toes (oftentimes actively recruited to join their ranks). Remember, it’s not the grammar of the motion that matters, but the quality of the attorney.
Many people in today’s society are content creators, artists, independent consultants, service-oriented business owners, e-commerce wholesalers, influencers, etc. They aren’t just “small businesses” or insignificant. They’re quite dominant and many of these people are very young millionaires who refuse to be treated like a dirt slave for corporate greed in America (See ‘Great Resignation’).
There are 31.7 million small businesses in the U.S. Oklahoma has 303,135 small businesses, according to the most current federal data available. Of those 303,135 small businesses in Oklahoma, 75,058 have employees. The remaining 228,077 are Oklahoma small businesses that have no employees. Those businesses have unique needs and circumstances, and none of them want to waste money.
Not only is this a cultural phenomenon, but it’s a business shift in how the world conducts business in modern times. Independent subject matter experts with a niche are highly compensated and sought after currently for one core reason: their intrinsic value. That value is no longer minimized, mocked, or misunderstood now that literally everyone operates with technology in every aspect of their lives. Big businesses, like BigLaw, are being put on notice.
[The first time I realized all this was when I read a motion from a non-Biglaw firm in an employment case. The motion was poorly drafted, with typos everywhere, with formatting issues everywhere. Their opponent was a Biglaw firm with a clean, typo-free brief. And yet to my surprise, the non-Biglaw firm won the motion. That experience made me realize that the things Biglaw focuses on are all proxies for quality. All that sh*twork, especially typo and formatting cleanup, is just a way to trick clients into believing that the underlying brief is good.]
Results matter. Integrity matters. Quality of service determined by meaningful metrics matter. Transparency in fees matter. A ‘hand-crafted’ tailor made approach to the legal issues at hand matter. The world has caught up. Large corporations are farming out certain work to highly skilled subject matter experts in their field because of the accessibility and utility brought on from technology. Smaller and medium sized businesses now have access to affordable top-notch quality legal services more than ever before.
Some of the legal ‘old heads’ still refuse to have an online presence, decent functioning websites, conduct virtual meetings, or get away from the billable hour model. It’s frustrating to me personally, but why would they? Ultimately I ended up weaving this disgust and frustration into a positive vision for my law practice’s approach. I’m coming for them and will be relentless in my pursuit.
Their whole professional existence has profited off ignorance of the general public, or at the very least doing the only thing they knew how to do which they were trained to do. I’ve noticed a lot, not all (emphasis added), older attorneys are EXTREMELY resistant to change and set in their ways. Particularly when it comes to technology. Many find it ‘unnecessary’. The problem with that is they are losing sight on what the CLIENT of TODAY actually needs: Convenience, Affordability, Transparency.
Being stuck in your ways does not align with any of those client needs, and it’s not about the attorney it’s always about the client (no matter how much money you make). We are required to be zealous advocates for our clients, not client factories. The billable hour model almost inherently goes against our sworn oath and lawyer’s creed. An honor code (See The Citadel’s Honor Code: A Cadet Does Not Lie, Cheat, or Steal Nor Tolerate Those Who Do) Maybe a lot of lawyers have lost sight of this, got stuck in old habits, or became consumed by greed over time. Well, I have not and refuse to. This is constantly on the forefront of my mind when creating my purpose in life as an attorney.
Technology Disruption. Everything I’ve seen that is ripe for disruption I’ve began to incorporate, albeit slowly, into my Law Practice. We leverage law practice manage software (ABA compliant and OBA recommended). We use encrypted messaging / file sharing to maintain diligent legal representation and confidential communications. We use e-signature software, securely share documents on cloud networks, secure private messaging, virtual conference calls / meetings via Zoom, online scheduling tools, online intake tools, social media, email, automatic conflict of interest checks, real time payments, and access at your fingertips. We have an office and can meet you in person, if needed, but it’s not required. This is a luxury for a client that is readily available, but it is not a necessity.
The technology Mediation & Contract Law, PLLC uses makes us an easy-to-use option when choosing legal services. We can schedule a Zoom meeting when convenient for you without having to get dressed up, drive in rush hour, wait in line, and talk to someone in an intimidating room wasting your precious time. We respect your time just like we demand that you respect ours.
Attorney Fees Disruption. We accept online payments linked securely to our attorney trust account and legal operating accounts. We offer payment plans under certain circumstances. WE DO NOT FOLLOW A BILLABLE HOUR MODEL. All fees are communicated up front prior to legal representation starting and signing attorney-client contracts. At the time of this writing we have in place one of the following: (1) nonrefundable fixed fee payments, (2) a contingency fee arrangement where we don’t get paid unless there is a favorable result, or (3) a fixed retainer with a set cap in place.
I believe these are the most transparent and efficient ways to go about charging clients their hard-earned money for legal services. It creates mutual trust from the start, and predictability for the client to budget appropriately. Billable hours are too open-ended. There is no cap, and they could essentially go on forever by technicality. And depending on the lawyer’s hourly rate that could seriously rack up fast (See BigLaw discussion above). I provide a more effective alternative solution, so clients aren’t left guessing.
The pricing model we use makes it clear what our services will cost so the client can effectively plan and budget without adding another layer of anxiety to an already anxious situation talking to an attorney in the first place.
Legal Representation Approach Disruption. The approach Mediation & Contract Law, PLLC uses is all about YOU (the client) rooted in quality first. We are selective in who we represent just like you are selective in who you hire. When you choose us, we GO HARD for our clients with one thing in mind: Winning through zealous advocacy. We aren’t just lawyers, we are advocates. The practice areas are limited in scope because we are hyper focused in certain areas of law and have deep knowledge in business and particular industries. Think of us as that hidden (but useful) sharp blade in your tool kit that you’re extremely grateful you have when you need it.
You can’t teach character or knowing what it takes to win. That comes from personal life experiences based on the decisions and personality of an individual. It takes sacrifice, grit, tenacity, competitiveness, intellect, talent, raw pain, authenticity, and most importantly the ability to overcome failure repeatedly to win at anything in life (i.e., Resiliency). Failing forward towards the legal mastery of my passion to serve others. Serving others in meaningful ways. Solving complex problems so that our client’s can finally breathe with peace of mind. I truly believe that the more people I help become successful the more successful I will become. I have a burning desire to serve others in creative ways. We will continue to disrupt. We will continue to innovate. We will continue to fight and rise up. We are here to stay.
(INSPIRED BY THE WRITINGS OF ALEX SU & MY PESONAL LIFE EXPERIENCES OVERCOMING ADVERSITY & FINDING PURPOSE)
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