The New Lawyer: How Clients are Transforming the Practice of Law (2017)

• This new and completely updated second edition focuses on the role that clients, both domestic and corporate, are playing in transforming legal services. The assumption that lawyers are “in charge”, critiqued in the first edition, is eroding as a Google savvy generation of consumers demands a different, more participatory, problem-solving model of service, whether the client is a primarily self-represented litigant, or a corporation.

“For anyone who is considering going to law school, who is presently in law school, or who is already in legal practice, The New Lawyer is a must-read. Dr. Macfarlane paints a compelling picture of the future of lawyering and the significant role of legal education in helping create that picture. If the experience of my students reading the book at the University of Victoria is any indicator, Macfarlane’s description of the new lawyer will resonate with all persons interested in a progressive and honourable legal profession. The book might even signal an end to lawyer jokes!”

Andrew Pirie, professor, University of Victoria Law School

“This book is brilliant!  The New Lawyer is a fascinating analysis of the shifting public perception and expectations of lawyers as well as ways that the practice of law has changed in recent years.  The New Lawyer should be required reading for all lawyers , law school professors  and law students.  Great insights into a profession on the precipice– a clarion call to revamp legal education and diversify legal approaches or face diminishing public demand and value..”

Susan Hansen, Hansen & Hildebrand, Milwaukee; Past President, International Academy of Collaborative Professionals