The Dangers of Commodification
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While the development of technology for use by legal practices has been astounding, what has come with it is a range of issues including the dangers of
commodification and, more recently, the further challenges of AI.
The ‘Big Mac’ is a well-known example of commodification where the highly controlled input costs and strict production process lead to the provision of a popular, relatively low cost beef burger.
The Grill’d Wagyu Wunder, while also subject to a strict production process, has higher input costs due to higher consumer expectations of quality and therefore retails at more than double the price of a Big Mac. However, ultimately, it is still just a beef burger.
In the legal profession, the term “commodification” means treating the legal services provided in preparing often complex legal documents as merely the sale of a commodity. Such documents include leases, mortgages, trust deeds, financial agreements in family law, and default and termination notices in property and commercial transactions.
But what the client sees in, for example, a one page default notice is a simple document which is a means to an end; it’s just a plain beef burger.
However, the legal work to produce that default notice, done properly, can involve the taking of detailed instructions, the need for a deep understanding of the relevant law and careful drafting. Beef burger it may be, but the input costs are relatively high – like a Wagyu Wunder.
It is tempting to lower your input costs, perhaps even using AI, so you can price it in accordance with the client’s ‘Big Mac’ perception. Is that an acceptable approach?
The seminar will consider the risks that go with commodification and the need for lawyers to recognise the true value of their work
Navigating the risks of being a client’s second lawyer
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Law Mutual (WA) regularly deals with complicated circumstances where a client has engaged multiple legal firms on the same matter before turning around and claiming against all of them when things aren’t resolved to their satisfaction.
This session will explore a variety of challenges that face solicitors who aren’t first on the scene, including advice shopping, prior sunk costs, compromised information gathering and time pressures.
By reference to real claims experience, this session will offer some strategies and options for navigating these challenges.
The negotiation mandate; It’s the client’s call
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This seminar focuses on what a lawyer ought to do to eliminate the risk of claims arising from the lawyer acting as the client’s agent in negotiations with another party both in the commercial environment and in the course of litigation. How do you secure the client’s authority to negotiate, what are the limits on the lawyer’s authority and, most importantly, what does the client need to know before instructing the lawyer to commit the client to a resolution of the relevant issue whether it be a commitment to the terms of a commercial relationship or compromising a case.
Professional liability risk management 101 – pitfalls and opportunities in delivering legal services
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The professional liability pitfalls in delivering legal services can be categorised under a number of headings, including capability, communication, process and checking. This seminar will explore the nature of professional liability risk, the history of PI claims against Law Mutual Insureds and the fundamentals of professional liability risk management.
Initial client engagement– planning for success
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This seminar looks at some practical examples of where an inadequate plan or documentation at the beginning of a matter or failure to change the plan as circumstances change has been the root cause of claims. It will be presented with reference to the Law Society’s template client engagement agreement, which covers scoping the work, confirming assumptions and recording key details at the outset. With the use of this tool, you can literally be on the same page as your client.
Supervision & Delegation: 2025 & Beyond
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Delegation is essential in the law office, to ensure the distribution of work amongst staff so that the complexity of the task matches the skill of the lawyer. Not only does this maximize efficiency and profitability, but it enables junior lawyers to learn and improve their skills while being supervised properly. Other topics covered include:
• Remote and hybrid work
• Communication over multiple channels/devices
• Practice management software
• GenAI supervision
• Psychological safety
• Setting up methods to supervise
• How to be a better delegator/supervisor
• How to be a better delegate, given these issues
Introducing matter management guidelines – good practice in delivering legal service
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Over the past six years, Law Mutual’s Matter Management Guidelines have been presented to the profession in many seminars, challenged, analysed, reviewed and refined. They represent good practice guidance on the fundamentals for managing risk in the conduct of any matter.
This seminar provides an overview of these fundamentals and challenges participants to consider whether their firm meets these requirements.
The Dangers of Commodification (REPEAT)
to
While the development of technology for use by legal practices has been astounding, what has come with it is a range of issues including the dangers of commodification and, more recently, the further challenges of AI.
The ‘Big Mac’ is a well-known example of commodification where the highly controlled input costs and strict production process lead to the provision of a popular, relatively low cost beef burger.
The Grill’d Wagyu Wunder, while also subject to a strict production process, has higher input costs due to higher consumer expectations of quality and therefore retails at more than double the price of a Big Mac. However, ultimately, it is still just a beef burger.
In the legal profession, the term “commodification” means treating the legal services provided in preparing often complex legal documents as merely the sale of a commodity. Such documents include leases, mortgages, trust deeds, financial agreements in family law, and default and termination notices in property and commercial transactions.
But what the client sees in, for example, a one page default notice is a simple document which is a means to an end; it’s just a plain beef burger.
However, the legal work to produce that default notice, done properly, can involve the taking of detailed instructions, the need for a deep understanding of the relevant law and careful drafting. Beef burger it may be, but the input costs are relatively high – like a Wagyu Wunder.
It is tempting to lower your input costs, perhaps even using AI, so you can price it in accordance with the client’s ‘Big Mac’ perception. Is that an acceptable approach?
The seminar will consider the risks that go with commodification and the need for lawyers to recognise the true value of their work.
Navigating the risks of being a client’s second lawyer (REPEAT)
to
Law Mutual (WA) regularly deals with complicated circumstances where a client has engaged multiple legal firms on the same matter before turning around and claiming against all of them when things aren’t resolved to their satisfaction.
This session will explore a variety of challenges that face solicitors who aren’t first on the scene, including advice shopping, prior sunk costs, compromised information gathering and time pressures.
By reference to real claims experience, this session will offer some strategies and options for navigating these challenges
The negotiation mandate; It’s the client’s call (REPEAT)
to
This seminar focuses on what a lawyer ought to do to eliminate the risk of claims arising from the lawyer acting as the client’s agent in negotiations with another party both in the commercial environment and in the course of litigation. How do you secure the client’s authority to negotiate, what are the limits on the lawyer’s authority and, most importantly, what does the client need to know before instructing the lawyer to commit the client to a resolution of the relevant issue whether it be a commitment to the terms of a commercial relationship or compromising a case.
Missing deadlines – ongoing and preventable claims
to
An ongoing major cause of claims is missed deadlines. Managing deadlines is a core legal discipline, and totally within the control of the firm. This seminar will explore the types of deadlines the firm must manage, why deadlines are commonly missed and the fundamental practices the firm should adopt to manage the risk of a missed deadline.
Initial client engagement – planning for success (REPEAT)
to
This seminar looks at some practical examples of where an inadequate plan or documentation at the beginning of a matter or failure to change the plan as circumstances changes has been the root cause of claims. It will be presented with reference to the Law Society’s template client engagement agreement, which covers scoping the work, confirming assumptions and recording key details at the outset. With the use of this tool, you can literally be on the same page as your client.
Supervision & Delegation: 2025 & Beyond (REPEAT)
to
Delegation is essential in the law office, to ensure the distribution of work amongst staff so that the complexity of the task matches the skill of the lawyer. Not only does this maximize efficiency and profitability, but it enables junior lawyers to learn and improve their skills while being supervised properly. Other topics covered include:
• Remote and hybrid work
• Communication over multiple channels/devices
• Practice management software
• GenAI supervision
• Psychological safety
• Setting up methods to supervise
• How to be a better delegator/supervisor
• How to be a better delegate, given these issues
Introducing practice management guidelines – building and maintaining the foundations for firm success
to
Law Mutual’s Practice Management Guidelines have been designed to provide the organisational framework for firm success and, through this, to support practitioners to manage risk in the conduct of all legal matters. This seminar focuses on the critical aspects of practice management and the controls needed to ensure effective leadership, organisation, management of people, information and communication, processes and practices – as well as assurance that firm requirements are being met in the management of the practice and the conduct of a matter.
