Beyond docs in legal
Graeme Johnston / 9 March 2026 If you’ll forgive the gush, one of my favourite writers addressing “law meets tech” issues is Ryan McDonough. Something which makes Ryan’s work special is how he addresses the techy aspects in a highly specific way and links it up to realistic law-related needs in a meaningful way […]
Legal privilege and AI under English law: two big issues
Graeme Johnston / 8 March 2026 This article suggests some ways of approaching two big issues under English law and procedure concerning the application of some well-established legal requirements concerning legal professional privilege to cases of AI tool use. The two issues concern; The requirement of confidentiality The requirement of legal advice provided by […]
Legal fee-type blurring, and tales of the unexpected
Graeme Johnston / 3 March 2026 This article discusses two related practical questions which arise in legal work: When is an estimate like a fixed fee? How should you respond when out of scope work is needed? A common factor in addressing both questions is the importance of clear, informed thought, followed by […]
A possible grand bargain between law firms and corporate clients – Part 3 of 3
Part 3: The bargain in detail Graeme Johnston and Elizabeth (Libbie) Evans / 25 February 2026 Originally published on LinkedIn This is the third and final part of an article about managing spend on large complex business law matters. In Part 1, we identified structural challenges with current fee practices and made the case for […]
Smarter planning, budgeting and insights for legal teams
Graeme Johnston / 22 July 2025 This post summarises what our Juralio software does, who it helps and how it works. What Juralio does Juralio helps with the process of legal work including Planning the work required in a legal matter Projecting financials (costs, pricing and profitability) for that work Adjusting to change (in complex work, […]
Practical legal taxonomies in law firms and legal departments
Graeme Johnston / 27 December 2024 “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where—” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat. Lewis […]
Legal costs: magic vs process
Graeme Johnston / 21 September 2023 Two things I came across at lunchtime today: An interesting-looking new book on fear as a prism through which to understand world history. It explores historical cases in which fear, whether well-grounded or manufactured, has led to change. Hobbes, Machiavelli, political manipulation, pandemics and more. A US legal website […]
Ten conversations about LPM and LPI in UK law firms
Graeme Johnston / 8 September 2023 This article summarises ten one-to-one conversations I had in August and early September 2023 with people involved in LPM (legal project management), LPI (legal process improvement) or both in the context of UK law firms. The conversations were an attempt to understand and share, in a qualitative way, how […]
Legal costs in complex work: action and reaction
Graeme Johnston / 5 September 2023 This article discusses the development of ways to bill for complex, unpredictable work – in particular, hourly billing some of the ‘billing countermeasures’ (a personal usage, inspired by ECM) which have developed in response to concerns about the over-reach of hourly billing some emerging possibilities and a couple of possible […]
Three approaches to legal work
Graeme Johnston / 28 August 2023 Two established ways to approach legal work are: 1) Focus on substance: concepts, words, evidence, stories, negotiations, documents, solutions. That’s where the magic is. ‘Process’ is mainly about finding time to focus on them. It takes as long as it takes. Ideally you’ll manage to find ways to limit […]