It all started back in the early spring of 2020, independent of the initial shockwaves of Covid-19 surging across the globe, we sat down and juxtaposed our unbridled optimism at the state of our practice against our very real concerns regarding the state of the legal industry. The conclusions we drew were as obvious as they were inescapable.
First, the demand for our software license counseling – largely (but not entirely) driven by Oracle Corporation – had been consistently expanding in size and scope in the years since we represented Mars in the landmark Mars v. Oracle matter (still the only publicly filed matter brought by a licensee against Oracle for its licensing and auditing tactics). Second, chaining the delivery of legal services to outsized law firms was not only rapidly slipping into obsolescence, but the inwardly focused demands of BigLaw were damaging our attorney-client relationships.
The rough contours of a lean and nimble law firm quickly took shape as we strategized how to best unbundle our sophisticated software licensing services from the confines of full-service law firms. We tentatively planned a summer launch, eagerly anticipating the freedom of bringing our legal services directly to our clients.
And then Covid-19 revealed its true colors and the game changed for everyone. Lockdowns were put into place, businesses emptied their premises and, almost overnight, every business in every industry across the globe was grappling with existential concerns regarding how to deliver their services in a new and unpredictable world.
It was against this unexpectedly tumultuous backdrop that, on June 1, 2020, we threw open the proverbial doors of Beeman & Muchmore. Armed with decades of experience as partners in the largest and most prominent law firms in the country, we barreled directly into the most unpredictable market in decades. Above all, we trusted our instincts that the legal industry is best served by embracing the onslaught of change rather than resisting it.
And, if this past year has taught us anything, it is that Beeman & Muchmore is at the forefront of an exciting and necessary evolution towards unbundled law firms. It is no secret: aided in no small part by the pandemic, businesses are drastically reimagining their legal services, handling an increasing range of needs in-house and supplementing the rest with highly specialized counseling. Armed with our hard-fought micro-specialty of Oracle (and other) software licensing and auditing services, we are proud to be among the very first law firms to bring a specific unbundled legal service to the complex commercial law space.
It seems a fitting bookend that now, on our one-year anniversary, many of us are beginning to emerge from the pandemic (with many more soon to follow). As we collectively begin fully exploring just what our new world is and what it means to all of us, we continue to unwaveringly adhere to the mantra that launched our firm a year ago: The Best is Yet to Come.
—Art and Joel
Published on 6/1/2021
Software licensors are known for vague contracts—they’ve made a business of it.
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