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You are viewing ARCHIVED CONTENT released online between 1 April 2010 and 24 August 2018 or content that has been selectively archived and is no longer active. Content in this archive is NOT UPDATED, and links may not function.By Casey Flaherty
Extract: While inside lawyers can often wield the illusion of unpredictability as a shield from scrutiny by other departments (e.g., finance), it only goes so far. Not only are law departments finding it harder to secure exemptions from across-the-board budget cuts, but the opacity that serves them well in maintaining their autonomy also derails attempts to make a compelling business case for more budget, headcount, etc. Law departments really are being asked to do more with less. And they can no longer meet the challenge of more by throwing additional (internal or external) bodies at the problem.
People cost money. And they tend to cost more money over time. Technology trends in the opposite direction (well, most technology). Labor-intensive industries (the stagnant sector) therefore have to raise prices as time passes, while technology-intensive industries (the productive sector) are able to lower prices. Absent confounding factors, there is a gradual increase in the share of spend directed towards the stagnant sector (education, health care, performing arts, and other labor-intensive industries) with a corresponding decrease in the share of spend directed towards the productive sector (food, manufactured goods, and other areas where technology has substantially augmented human labor).
Read the complete article at 3 Geeks and a Law Blog: The Legal Cost Disease