Tomorrow's Lawyers

1. The legal profession faces unprecedented change driven by economic pressures, liberalization, and technology

We are, I have no doubt, on the brink of fundamental change in the world of law, and my main aim is to encourage wider discussion of the forces at play and their likely impact.

The more-for-less challenge is driving change as clients demand greater value from legal services. Economic pressures are forcing businesses and individuals to seek ways to reduce legal costs while still meeting their growing legal needs. This is compounded by liberalization of legal services markets, which is allowing new providers to enter and compete. Finally, rapidly advancing information technology is enabling new ways of delivering legal services more efficiently and at lower cost.

• Key drivers of change:
  • Economic pressures ("more-for-less" challenge)
  • Liberalization of legal services markets
  • Advancements in information technology

These forces are converging to create an environment ripe for disruption of traditional legal service models. Law firms and in-house legal departments that fail to adapt risk being left behind as more innovative providers emerge to meet client demands in new ways.

2. Traditional legal services will be decomposed and sourced in new ways

Legal engagements such as deals and disputes, I am saying, are not monolithic, indivisible professional engagements that must all be sourced and undertaken in one way. Instead we can decompose (economists would say 'disaggregate') work into various tasks and should undertake each, I propose, in as efficient a manner as possible.

Decomposing legal work allows it to be broken down into component tasks that can then be sourced in the most efficient way. This might involve outsourcing routine work to lower-cost providers, using technology to automate certain tasks, or employing paralegals for appropriate activities. The goal is to match each task with the most cost-effective way of completing it while maintaining quality.

• Examples of decomposed legal tasks:
  • Document review
  • Legal research
  • Due diligence
  • Contract drafting
  • Project management

By decomposing and strategically sourcing legal work, firms can reduce costs, improve efficiency, and focus highly skilled lawyers on the tasks that truly require their expertise. This approach challenges the traditional model of having expensive lawyers handle all aspects of a matter regardless of complexity.

3. Disruptive technologies will transform legal practice and create new opportunities

Individually, these existing and emerging systems will challenge and change the way in which certain legal services are delivered. Collectively, they will transform the entire legal landscape.

Emerging legal technologies are poised to dramatically reshape how legal services are delivered. These include artificial intelligence for legal research and document review, automated document assembly, blockchain for smart contracts, and online dispute resolution platforms. While disruptive to traditional practices, these technologies also create opportunities for lawyers to deliver services in new ways and develop new areas of expertise.

Key disruptive legal technologies:

• Artificial intelligence and machine learning
• Automated document assembly
• Blockchain and smart contracts
• Online dispute resolution
• Legal analytics and prediction tools
• Cloud-based practice management platforms

Forward-thinking lawyers who embrace these technologies can gain a competitive edge by offering more efficient, data-driven, and accessible legal services. However, this will require developing new skills and rethinking how legal work is performed and delivered to clients.

4. Law firms must adapt their business models or risk becoming obsolete

Although these changes will impact on all firms (large and small), some larger firms will want to argue that, for 'high-end work', notions such as commoditization, decomposing, and multi-sourcing, are of little relevance. But, on examination, it transpires that this concept of 'high-end work' is something of a myth—even in the world's largest deals and disputes there are substantial components of work that can be routinized and sourced differently.

Rethinking law firm models is crucial for survival in the evolving legal market. The traditional pyramid structure with partners at the top and large numbers of associates billing hours is becoming unsustainable as clients push back against high costs. Firms must explore new approaches such as:

• Alternative fee arrangements beyond hourly billing
• Lean staffing models with fewer junior lawyers
• Strategic use of technology and alternative legal service providers
• Developing new service lines like legal operations consulting
• Embracing project management and process improvement techniques

Firms that cling to outdated models risk losing market share to more innovative competitors, including alternative legal service providers and the Big Four accounting firms. Even for complex "high-end" work, there are opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce costs through better processes and strategic sourcing of routine components.

5. In-house legal departments will drive efficiency and collaboration in legal services

If in-house lawyers do not want reinstatement of bad past habits, they must send that message very clearly to their external advisers. They can be assured that, in the current buyers' market, such a message cannot be ignored.

In-house counsel as change agents will play a pivotal role in reshaping the legal services market. As the primary buyers of external legal services, in-house teams have significant leverage to demand greater efficiency, transparency, and value from law firms. They are increasingly focused on:

• Implementing legal operations best practices
• Using data analytics to manage legal spend and track outcomes
• Exploring alternative legal service providers for routine work
• Pushing law firms to adopt project management and process improvement
• Fostering collaboration among panel firms rather than competition

In-house legal departments are also likely to take on a more strategic role within their organizations, focusing on proactive risk management and using technology to provide faster, more data-driven legal guidance to business units. This shift will require in-house lawyers to develop new skills in areas like legal operations, technology, and business strategy.

6. Online legal services and AI will increase access to justice and reshape dispute resolution

These kinds of development are of profound significance and represent a major departure from conventional legal services. Not all of the moves were triggered directly by the Legal Services Act but this legislation—and here is the key point rather than the details of particular initiatives—is engendering a remarkable and unprecedented entrepreneurial spirit in the legal market in the UK.

Democratizing legal services through technology has the potential to address long-standing access to justice issues. Online legal services and AI-powered tools can provide basic legal information, document preparation, and even dispute resolution at a fraction of the cost of traditional legal services. This opens up legal help to individuals and small businesses who previously couldn't afford it.

Key developments in online legal services:

• Self-help legal information websites
• Automated document assembly for common legal needs
• Chatbots and AI-powered legal advice
• Online dispute resolution platforms
• Marketplaces connecting clients with lawyers

These tools won't replace lawyers entirely, but they will reshape how legal services are delivered and consumed. Courts and dispute resolution processes will also be transformed by technology, with virtual hearings and AI-assisted decision-making becoming more common.

7. New roles will emerge for lawyers as legal technologists, process analysts, and risk managers

Although the long-term prospects for most conventional lawyers are much more limited than in the past, I urge young lawyers not to be de-motivated or downhearted, because there will be, I believe, a promising range of new opportunities and new careers for people trained in the law.

Evolving legal careers will require lawyers to develop new skills and embrace emerging roles that blend legal knowledge with technology, process improvement, and business strategy. Some key new roles include:

• Legal Knowledge Engineers: Structuring legal information for use in expert systems
• Legal Technologists: Developing and implementing legal tech solutions
• Legal Process Analysts: Optimizing legal workflows and sourcing strategies
• Legal Project Managers: Overseeing complex, multi-sourced legal matters
• Legal Risk Managers: Proactively identifying and mitigating legal risks
• Legal Operations Specialists: Improving efficiency of legal departments

These roles leverage legal training but require additional skills in areas like technology, data analysis, project management, and process improvement. Lawyers who develop expertise in these areas will be well-positioned to thrive in the evolving legal market.

8. Legal education must evolve to prepare students for 21st-century legal practice

My profound concern is that the emphasis in law schools and professional training is overwhelmingly on the former, with little regard for the latter. Indeed, a more profound concern still is that many legal educators and policymakers do not even know there is a second option. My fear, in short, is that we are training young lawyers to become 20th-century lawyers and not 21st-century lawyers.

Reimagining legal education is crucial to prepare the next generation of lawyers for a rapidly changing profession. Law schools must go beyond teaching traditional legal doctrine and skills to incorporate:

• Technology and coding skills
• Data analysis and legal analytics
• Project management and process improvement
• Business and financial literacy
• Design thinking and innovation methods
• Practical experience with legal technologies

Law schools should also foster an entrepreneurial mindset and prepare students for non-traditional legal careers. This might involve partnerships with technology companies, business schools, and alternative legal service providers to provide students with diverse, hands-on experiences.

Continuing legal education for practicing lawyers will also need to evolve to help the existing workforce adapt to new technologies and ways of working. The legal profession must embrace lifelong learning to keep pace with ongoing changes in the market.

Last updated: November 17, 2024