Disrupting Conventional Law Firm Business Models using Document Assembly

Document assembly software is a technology that is fundamentalto disrupting law firms. This article uses the framework setout by Clayton Christensen in The Innovator’s Dilemmaand subsequent books to examine the range of business modelsthat use document assembly software, from those that are sustainingin relation to law firms to those that are disruptive in relationto law firms. It looks at three barriers that slow down thepace of disruption: a shortage of the right people, rules againstunauthorised practice, and inadequate capitalisation of lawfirms. These barriers will be overcome on a piecemeal basisas disruptive forces advance and undercut the billable hour.