BigLaw & Management

Abstract

This chapter approaches Law & Management through a different lens than the other chapters in this handbook, switching focus from the academic literature describing how business enterprises use law to create competitive advantage to a body of literature studying the strategy and management of global enterprises whose core business is law: the world’s largest and most successful law firms, commonly known as BigLaw. The chapter begins by exploring the tension between viewing law as a profession and the reality of BigLaw firms as complex global businesses. It next turns to two schools of thought that view BigLaw firms as big businesses with unique features, focusing on the distinctive challenges of managing such firms. It further examines the changing competitive landscape in which BigLaw firms operate, brought on by the increasing unbundling and redistribution of work traditionally done by BigLaw firms to alternative legal service providers, legal technology companies, and the Big Four accounting firms. The chapter concludes by discussing potential pathways for BigLaw firms to thrive in a time of seismic change, including the impact of two shocks to the BigLaw status quo: the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of AI. It sets the stage for future Law & Management scholars to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the management and strategy of modern BigLaw firms as we enter a period of disruption and possibility.