New ABA president plans to focus on innovation

William Hubbard Tuesday became the president of the American Bar Association at its annual meeting in Boston.

The “centerpiece of my efforts will be to work on a commission on the future of legal services,” Hubbard, 62, a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Columbia, South Carolina, said in a phone interview.

He said that in 2012, $66 million was invested in technology companies that provide various types of legal services. By last year that amount had jumped to $458 million, he said.

“It’s a lot of money, and I’m hoping to bring those efforts together with a blueprint that protects our legal system,” he said.

The commission includes practitioners and academics including Judy Perry Martinez, chief compliance officer at Northrop Grumman Corp.; James Sandman, president of Legal Services Corp.; Daniel Rodriguez, the dean of the Northwestern University School of Law; and Andrew Perlman of Suffolk University Law School.

While he said he hopes the commission will study how better to provide legal services to those who are underrepresented, he said that he also wants to focus on how services are delivered to corporate clients.

Hubbard said he wants the commission to help protect legal interests and break down institutional protectionism.

“Lawyers can be concerned with what they view as encroachment on the practice of law,” he said. “That line has become blurred with development of companies like Legal Zoom and Rocket Lawyers. We hope to determine where we might embrace technology consistent with the rules of professional conduct.”

Hubbard said his responsibilities at the ABA will require him to reduce his workload.

“I will continue to advise and work with several clients but at a more strategic level because of the demands of this position,” he said.