Law firms aren't technology companies....yet.

A lot of them will be, whether they planned for it or not.

The firms that get this first are going to win. And the prize is bigger than most people think.

Kirkland just told the rest of the legal industry what the next ten years look like.

$500 million to build their own AI platform. Not license it. Build it.

Legal is very likely heading into a wave of consolidation. The Am Law 200 becomes the Am Law 50.

The legal market is unsustainably fragmented.

The revenue of the entire Am Law 200 is around $200B.

The closest adjacent industry to legal is accounting/consulting where the Big 4 generate about $230B.

FOUR accounting/consulting firms generate more revenue that the top TWO HUNDRED in legal.

The firms that limped into this transformation will get bought at fire sale prices by the ones that moved early.

Five years, ten years, I won't pretend to know the exact timeline. It is coming either way.

Why?

The things that have set elite firms apart for decades, brand, marquee wins, practice depth, geographic footprint, are going to continue to be important but there's a new element entering the differentiation equation.

The client service model (CSM).

And the CSM of the future runs on a real technology layer underneath it that taps the collective knowledge and wisdom of the firm.

Off the shelf tools don't create differentiation.

The tech layer is expensive. It takes serious capital and serious commitment.

Bootstrapping your way into it one matter at a time is going to be a tough slog for all but the biggest firms.

Kirkland can write a $500 million check and barely feel it. Most firms cannot. That is the entire point.

The ones still on the PoC merry-go-round or waiting to see how this shakes out are already behind.