Thomson Reuters Publishes New Book, ’Smarter Law: Transforming Busy Lawyers Into Business Leaders’

Thomson Reuters announces publication of “Smarter Law: Transforming Busy Lawyers Into Business Leaders”, the definitive tome on legal performance improvement, written by the former general counsel and leader of Legal Services at EY Global, Trevor Faure.

The Smarter Law approach uses a broad range of techniques from Emotional Intelligence to Artificial Intelligence, from soft skills to hard data. The result is a unique approach to transform individual personal skillsets, drive major performance improvements in both corporate legal departments and law firms, and as a result, bring about new, mutually-profitable client-law firm relationships. Smarter Law spans “left brain” approaches (logic, big data, Agile, Design, econometrics) and “right brain” influences (change resistance, neuro-linguistic programming, game theory, even Stoic philosophy). It is modern behavioral economics in the “Freakonomics” and Malcolm Gladwell mold.

Faure provides proven methods, data and case studies for practical application to improve legal services:

• “The Magnificent Seven” ways a lawyer can become an indispensable business partner and trusted adviser
• “The Maleficent Seven” behavioural resistances to essential change (and how to overcome them)
• Techniques that grew the Big Four professional services firms to over $30B in revenue that effectively cost nothing for law firms to implement
• Technology solutions with the highest return on investment
• Modernising law firm business development to provide what clients really want, not just discounts
• Analysis and selection processes enabling clients to pay law firm bidders more than their proposed rates and still reduce their overall spend
• Improvements to personal and organisational performance which can help smarter lawyers gain the advantage when at the table cutting deals

Through his experiences in legal leadership roles in companies at times of existential change, such as Apple Europe, Dell Europe and Tyco International, Trevor Faure’s first book in 2010, “The Smarter Legal Model: more from less” chronicled and helped pave the way for law firm panel convergence and legal work disaggregation. It helped stimulate industry discussion on developing innovative new paths to reduce legal costs, improve compliance and maximize client satisfaction.

Since 2011, as Global Leader of Legal Services for EY and then as head of independent consultancy Smarter Law Solutions, Faure has helped transform the performance of over 250 law firms, in-house legal departments and individual attorneys around the world, and create client-firm relationships that deliver greater client value while enhancing law firm profitability. As a result, the new book goes beyond “more for less” to demonstrate “better quality and rewards for less.”

Reviewing Smarter Law: Transforming Busy Lawyers Into Business Leaders, David B. Wilkins, Harvard Law School vice dean for Global Initiatives on the Legal Profession, faculty director of the Program on the Legal Profession, and Lester Kissel Professor of Law, says: "Faure’s insightful and practical analysis [is] more important than ever, and make this…a must read for any lawyer or legal organization seeking to thrive in today’s increasingly competitive and technology-driven global age.”

The Introduction to Smarter Law, the publication contents and order details can be found at: The Introduction to Smarter Law, the publication contents and order details can be found at: Smarter Law: Transforming Busy Lawyers into Business Leaders and smarterlawsolutions.com.

Thomson Reuters

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