A Fresh Perspective
Just like our planet, the world of law goes through climatic changes. In 2009, we recognized that the legal climate changed. The billable hour and the dominance of large law firms have been questioned. Contract lawyers, legal outsourcing, e-discovery, and a host of other developments have been the topics of discussion at CLE presentations and in conference rooms all over the world.
The future will belong to those lawyers who thrive by staying out of their comfort zones through innovation. This blog site is a labor of love by the men and women of Atlas Legal Research, L.P. Our dedication to the law and the legal profession has emboldened us to open this forum in an effort to help all lawyers embrace innovation and adaptation and, thereby, become better and stronger advocates.
History tells us that innovation and adaptation will win.
Humanity’s beginnings
How did modern humans defeat Neanderthals in the race for survival? According to scientists on the History Channel, National Geographic, and other sources, modern humans had a special advantage over their more muscular counterparts. Not everyone agrees with the idea of evolution, but the concepts that emerge from the argument are fascinating when viewed from a 21st Century prism.
In the human vs. Neanderthal context, we were not physically stronger than Neanderthals. They were bigger and more powerful. Our brains were not necessarily larger. They were of roughly equal size. However, our brains functioned in a manner that allowed us to shape our environment by creating superior tools. Through those tools, we were able to live in a variety of climates and thrive. In short, modern humans were able to adapt better than Neanderthals. Our instincts were sharper and gave us the ability to innovate. Since then, that ability has led to humans becoming the dominant species on planet earth.
What This Blog Will Deliver to YOU
Our modern human ancestors prevailed through adaptation. Arguably, adaptation will determine the winners and losers in the legal profession as well. In this forum, we will examine the legal profession from every angle we can fathom. We hope to provide a fertile ground for discussing innovation and adaptation so that, as lawyers, we can all thrive long enough to continue serving our clients and our society.
Welcome to Legalinstincts.com, the official blog site of Atlas Legal Research, L.P. (www.atlaslegal.com). By sharing stories and experiences, we hope to push the envelope of legal innovation. Let the adventure begin!
Felipe Melo
/ July 21, 2010Consider in this context the New Guinea highlanders who, despite functioning without
lawyers, were profiled by Jared Diamond in Guns, Germs and Steel as a near master race.
Of course, the same used to be said about the Brasilian national soccer team.
Max
/ July 20, 2010Good luck on your new venture. I’m eager to see what turns up.
I do hope this is the last grand theorizing you do, though. It may be, as you say, that history shows us that innovation and adaption “will win.” However, the extended comparison of law practice to the extinction of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis (or should that be Homo neanderthalensis?) is not promising, notwithstanding the breathless enthusiasm arising from it. See Tattersall, Ian, and Jeffrey H. Schwartz, “Hominids and hybrids: the place of Neanderthals in human evolution,” 96 Proc. Nat. Academy of Sciences 7117-19 (Jun. 22, 1999), http://bit.ly/9hD0XG. It seems that Neanderthals and modern humans were not separate species, but variations within Homo sapiens. There is evidence of interbreeding, or hybridization, for millenia, and recent work shows some modern populations share one to four percent of their DNA with the Neanderthal. “This suggests that early modern humans interbred with Neandertals after moderns left Africa, but before they spread into Asia and Europe.” Gibbons, Ann, “Paleogenetics: close encounters of the prehistoric kind,” 328 Science 680-84 (May 7, 2010), http://bit.ly/agWhAL.
If you are going to argue from the less known past to the better known present and the completely unknown future, arguing from natural selection in our case might more strongly imply that the big firms, far from losing dominance, are going to breed us, willy-nilly, into extinction.
Maybe one part of what this site will explore is what it means “to win.” In fact, if you look through a 21st Century prism, the part of the spectrum called “winning” will be the least satisfying viewpoint from which to see the next bit of pathway we are walking.
Wishing you well,
Max
Subramanya Prasad
/ July 20, 2010Congratulations and cheers!! Good news.
Sushma
/ July 20, 2010Congrats Rocky for creating a blog site for us…. Atlasees !!
Mike Maslanka
/ July 20, 2010Congrats on the start of your blog. Did I ever show you the postcard I use to promote mine? If not I will send you one. Best, Mike
Gerry
/ July 20, 2010Congratulations !! I look forward to reading this.
Legal Instincts
/ July 19, 2010Hello – Thank you for visiting our blog. We welcome your comments.