Practice Management

9 "Sure Bets For The Future" Attorneys Should Watch

By Brian J. Ritchey

Nothing in the future is certain, except taxes, death, and that the world will implode from global warming or some other threat that replaces it.  That notwithstanding, Harvard Business Online is boldly proclaiming 9 "sure bets for the future":

1. The Almighty Dollar will share its throne with an Omnipotent Euro.
2. Some currently unregulated financial markets won’t stay that way.
3. Energy will cost a lot. All businesses will have to operate under some form of carbon constraint.
4. China’s and India’s share of world markets will grow. A group of 100-million-population countries, like Turkey and Mexico, will grow faster.
5. Spanish and Arabic will become more important business languages
6. Multiculturalism and multiracialism will reshape cultural identity in both the U.S. and Europe. The Plato-to-Nato story will no longer define America’s manifest destiny, if any.
7. Even as intellectual property becomes more valuable, IP rights will erode.
8. Creative business people will invent new frauds.
9. The aftershocks of the Internet Big Bang will continue. Media will converge. Prices will fall. Devices will proliferate. Profits will be redistributed more often than cards on boys’ night out.

Particularly important, if they come to fruition, are those "bets" dealing with regulation, energy costs, business languages, IP rights, and the deflation of the internet economy. 

• Regulations (typically poorly drafted whether intentionally or not) are treasure troves for litigation and thus opportunity;
• Rising energy costs will impact profits, but again, will be opportunity for those who specialize in related areas of law;
• Business languages will impact costs of doing business and what markets you target;
• IP rights erosion will impact that area of law;
• Technology deflation will benefit firms who invest in it.

Read more here:  Nine Sure Bets For The Future

 We have begun taking submissions for the 2008 Law Firm Economic Survey.  If your firm is interested in participating, please contact Brian by clicking here.

Full post as published by More Partner Income on April 03, 2008 (boomark / email).