Hello legal innovators!
This month, we’re diving into:
- Merger Mania Madness: McDermott Will & Emery and Schulte Roth & Zabel’s $2.8 billion love story—because sometimes the best way to solve your talent exodus is to propose marriage.
- The AI Reality Check: Rob Johnson of DealTechno cuts through the hype bubble and explains why legal tech sales is like selling umbrellas to people who insist it’s not raining.
- From Firefighter to Fire Prevention: Why smart companies are embedding legal counsel into crisis management teams before the crisis hits, not after the building burns down.
- The Legal Department Wake-Up Call: EY’s research reveals six steps to transform static legal departments into strategic business partners—spoiler alert: most are still stuck in 1995.
- The Boomerang Executive: Michele Lee’s return to Wilson Sonsini as General Counsel in Residence proves that sometimes your best external counsel is someone who’s actually sat in the client’s chair.
Now, let’s jump right in!
McDermott Will & Emery and Schulte Roth & Zabel Plan Major Merger to Create $2.8 Billion Legal Giant
Key Takeaway: When law firms start feeling lonely at the top, they don’t get therapy—they get bigger. You either scale up or get left behind counting your billable hours.
The Merger Madness:
- Two firms combining forces faster than you can say “conflict check”—McDermott’s 1,350 lawyers meeting Schulte’s 360.
- The numbers: $2.8 billion in combined revenue and enough lawyers to fill a small stadium.
- McDermott brings healthcare and tax muscle; Schulte’s the private equity cool kid.
- Together they’ll jump to the top 13 law firms by revenue.
The Reality Behind the Romance:
- Schulte’s been hemorrhaging talent—three private equity stars already jumped to McDermott before merger talks started.
- When your litigation co-chair leaves for Quinn Emanuel, it’s time to either panic or propose—Schulte chose proposal.
- The legal world is playing musical chairs where everyone’s grabbing the biggest chair they can find.
- Bigger firms get better toys and compensation packages that make smaller firms weep.
Call to Action: Ready to bet on whether this legal marriage ends in happily ever after or expensive divorce? The consolidation train isn’t slowing down—will your firm be next to say “I do”? 💍⚖️
Zaven Rock-and-roll interview Series: Rob Johnson, Co-Founder at DealTechno
Key Takeaway: Legal tech success isn’t about dazzling demos—it’s about reading the room and remembering that behind every “revolutionary” purchase is someone who just wants their Monday mornings to suck less.
The Reality Check:
- Everyone’s talking about AI like it’s the second coming, but most implementations are about as revolutionary as a new stapler.
- Law firms and corporates want different things—like using the same GPS for a Ferrari and a school bus.
- Law firms count billable hours like Monopoly money; corporates just want stuff that works without a PhD.
The Truth: “We’re going through a bubble,” Rob admits. “Law firms are there to make cash—that’s different from how corporates should structure AI. It’s like using the same playbook for poker and chess.”
Cracking the Sales Code:
- Stop listing features like a phone book and start solving problems that make lives miserable.
- Map out who can write checks versus who just loves saying “no”.
- Paralegals want tools that don’t make them throw laptops; partners want dollar signs.
- Handle job security fears like defusing a bomb—carefully and honestly.
Call to Action: Ready to ditch the smoke machines and deliver real solutions? Stop selling magic beans and start being the practical problem-solver legal tech should be! 🎯💼
How Legal Counsel Can Prevent and Mitigate Business Crises
The legal profession is shifting from crisis cleanup crew to crisis prevention squad. Smart companies are realising that having lawyers show up after disaster is like calling the fire department after your house burned down.
Key Takeaway: The most valuable legal advice isn’t the brilliant courtroom argument—it’s the quiet intervention that prevents needing a courtroom. Forward-thinking organisations embed legal counsel into their DNA, not just emergency contacts.
The Prevention Revolution:
- Traditional model: Call the lawyer when you’re in trouble and need someone to blame.
- New reality: Legal counsel as strategic partners who spot the iceberg before you hit it.
- The difference between reactive legal work (expensive, stressful, too late) and proactive integration (cheaper, calmer, preventative).
The Reality Check: “Inside legal counsel have the advantage of being involved at an early stage,” explains former GC Pete Wentz. Translation: It’s easier to steer away from rocks than patch holes after you’ve hit them.
What This Means:
- Legal counsel is evolving from “the department of no” to strategic partners who understand perfect legal protection often equals business suicide.
- The best lawyers are risk-intelligent, helping navigate between reckless abandon and paralysed caution.
- Crisis management is becoming less about damage control and more about building organisational immune systems.
Call to Action: Will your legal team prevent the next crisis or just clean up the mess? Are you building legal fire walls or just keeping extinguishers handy?
Six Steps to Future-Proof Your Legal Department
Legal departments are stuck in 1995 while the business world races ahead. EY’s research reveals most legal teams are “too static in their thinking”—consultant-speak for “you’re asleep at the wheel.”
Key Takeaway: Tomorrow’s legal departments enable business success instead of just avoiding lawsuits. Most are still figuring out how to turn on their computers while everyone else races ahead.
The Reality Check:
- Only 11% of legal departments actually talk to their stakeholders—imagine running a restaurant without asking customers what they want.
- Legal teams obsess over litigation metrics while ignoring performance numbers that actually matter to the business.
- Three-quarters say sourcing is a priority, but only 21% have reviewed how they actually source work.
The Truth: “General Counsel need to think like business leaders, not just lawyers,” says former GC Bjarne Tellmann. Translation: Stop hiding behind legal jargon and start speaking business impact.
What This Means:
- Being right about the law doesn’t matter if you’re wrong about the business.
- The best legal teams embed in operations instead of waiting for problems to arrive.
- Technology isn’t magic—it only works when you know what problem you’re solving.
Call to Action: Will you lead the transformation or be dragged along by businesses that moved on without you? Are you enabling growth or the reason colleagues roll their eyes in meetings? ⚖️🚀
Michele C. Lee Joins Wilson Sonsini as General Counsel in Residence
Key Takeaway: The legal industry is shifting from selling expertise to selling experience. Clients want guides who’ve navigated the minefield and lived to tell about it.
The Evolution:
- Traditional firms offer technical expertise but miss the human element of real decision-making.
- Lee’s journey from associate to Pinterest GC to Wilson Sonsini’s new program shows credibility now comes from making tough calls, not memorising case law.
- There’s a massive gap between knowing what the law says and knowing how to actually use it in business.
The Reality Check: “When I first started at a corporation, I quickly realised there was no clear roadmap,” Lee admits. Translation: The legal profession has been sending people into corporate roles completely unprepared.
What This Means:
- Law firms are finally admitting they’ve been selling incomplete solutions.
- Clients want strategic guidance from people who understand real business consequences.
- This could reshape legal services from billable hours to outcome-based relationships.
Call to Action: Experience now trumps credentials. Will legal education adapt, or will we see a permanent divide between academic lawyers and battle-tested practitioners?
This month’s quote
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb
The legal industry is finally waking up to what other sectors learned years ago: transformation isn’t optional—it’s survival. This month’s articles reveal an industry caught between its prestigious past and uncertain future.
From mega-mergers driven by talent exodus to experience-based advisory models, legal professionals face a fundamental question: How do you evolve without losing what made you valuable?
The winners aren’t those with the fanciest AI tools—they’re the ones brave enough to admit yesterday’s playbook won’t win tomorrow’s game. Whether embedding legal counsel in crisis prevention or shifting from selling expertise to selling experience, success goes to those who recognise client needs evolved faster than service delivery.
Ask yourself: What outdated assumption are you clinging to? What client problem are you solving for 2015 instead of 2025? The legal industry’s transformation tree should have been planted decades ago—but today beats tomorrow.
