Understanding the Legal Services Marketplace

Course Catalog Number:
5133
Course Credits:
2
Course Type:
Lecture
Course Priority:
Limited Enrollment - 3rd Year Priority
Graduation Requirements:
"W" Writing
Full Year Course:
No

Course Description

Today’s increasingly competitive marketplace demands that new attorneys have an understanding of the commercial landscape of the legal services industry as a complement to their substantive legal knowledge and as a means towards making a contribution to their firm, company or organization. This course is an exploration of the industry from three perspectives. The first is a birds-eye view that will examine macro-trends in the industry. The second is the view from the supply side of the industry where we explore the sales, marketing, operations and soft skills associated with the provision of legal services in the law-firm and in-house (including not-for profit) contexts. The third is the view from the demand side of the industry where we will explore the types of issues driving demand for legal services, factors driving the decisions to procure legal services, and how legal services purchasers/users evaluate the services rendered. Throughout the course we will evaluate real-life, contemporary scenarios and interact with consumers of legal services and practicing attorneys, both in-house and in private practice.