The new economy and the virtual law firm of the future

One would not use farm models to manage a factory economy, and one shouldn't use factory models to manage an information economy. One hallmark of the new economy is the need to define business in terms of customers' changing needs. Defining a law firm from the producers' —the lawyer's— point of view is simply no longer workable and will have vast implications for the practice of law and the structure of law firms. Information technology enables an organization to differentiate itself along several critical dimensions: 1) time; 2) space; 3) matter; 4) substitution of electronically-based information service for high-priced labor; 5) elimination of intermediaries through direct contact with the customer; and 6) customization of product or service to the particular needs of the single individual.