Welcome to the Law Firm Disrupted, a briefing from Law.com editor Dan Packel that surveys new competitive pressures on law firms and how their managers are coping, plus insights on the tactics and tech employed by would-be disruptors. Have an opinion? Email me here. Want to be alerted to this dispatch in your inbox every Thursday? Sign up here.

I hate to admit this, but Philadephia and Boston have a lot in common. Outsized roles in the foundation of the American republic. Passionate sports fans (one set of which is poised to hail another championship in the coming days). A bit of an inferiority complex with regard to the significantly larger city that sits in between the two. Should the disappearance of a well-regarding, long-running midsize law firm in successive summers be a new addition to the list?