How Amazon Will Enter the Legal Market

“The competition that kills you may not look like you”. – Richard Susskind

In “Law is Not Ready for Amazon. Is Amazon Ready for Law?”, Mark Cohen writes that Amazon will continue to encroach on the legal market. The legal market meets Amazon’s three criteria for disrupting an industry. Amazon’s three criteria that must be met include: “(1) an original approach that does not mimic existing models; (2) scalability; and (3) potential for significant return on investment.”

Currently, legal providers are fragmented. There is no Goliath. And today’s leading legal providers focus on high-end clientele, and ignore a huge market. But, Amazon’s resources and deep data on client behaviour gives them an advantage to undercut current providers.

How would Amazon encroach on the legal market? Cohen states that Amazon would likely assemble a curated network of law firms, law companies, technologies, and consultancies for legal buyers to connect with providers. Cohen predicts that this new system will replace the fixation on pedigree with more meaningful metrics like data-backed profiles and consumer ratings.

Presently, Amazon has a curated network of intellectual property law firms that provide trademark registration services at pre-negotiated rates. However, I predict that this model will extend far beyond IP law.

Comments

  1. Rafail Veli, Esq.

    The Common law is in over 57 Commonwealth countries and a lot of outsourcing has already occurred with India and Pakistan lawyers reviewing documents for Canadian or US firms. This is a natural extension of the next steps by Amazon since lawyers are a commodity that can be
    leveraged as easily as doctors will be eventually with robotics and AI .

    There is no safe profession whatsoever and even as a lawyer I know that I am replaceable with AI and cheaper jurisdiction lawyers. Sad but true.