Article – UnitedLex: Forging New Paths at the Foothills of Legal Modernization

If tech alone is not the answer, and more lawyers is not the answer, then what is the answer?

Legal industry giants Richard Susskind and Mark A. Cohen shared their unique perspectives on the transformation of legal in a recent legal industry keynote program moderated by UnitedLex. The conversation and key takeaways reveal a new legal landscape that mandates a strategic integration of data, technology, and human ingenuity.

Download this summary to unlock insights on the transformative forces shaping a modern legal industry as discussed by visionary leaders Susskind and Cohen:

1. The new legal landscape: ChatGPT, data insights, and human adaptation: We see an increased emphasis on legal knowledge management – re-use of law firm work product and centralizing legal knowledge. Is this focus on knowledge management consistent with views across legal in response to generative AI?
2. Tomorrow’s lawyers: New law jobs for the rest of the decade and beyond: We’re experiencing increased demand for expertise in data analysis, and there are many other areas for in-house teams to upskill including design, process, and knowledge engineering. How important is it to adequately train in-house talent in increasingly resource-constrained environments?
3. Why stagnation is not an option: Legal evolution is a sociotechnical problem – people and technology. The challenge is cultural for an industry steeped in tradition. And yet, as Professor Knake Jefferson has identified: “Lawyers regularly exercise judgment about whether to adhere to precedent, or to forge new paths for changing law’s substance. That same sort of lawyerly calculation should apply to questions about innovation – but very often lawyers don’t think that doing things differently is part of their job.” It seems we have an accountability issue. Who owns this problem?
4. The truth about innovation and the impact of lawtech startups: It’s clear that we’re not far enough along to have a “silver bullet” piece of software to solve all our current challenges. Legal tech alone is not the answer. Yet, the reality across all industries of all sizes is that legal has a shared mandate: “You may no longer solve with additional headcount.” If tech alone is not the answer, and more lawyers is not the answer, then what is the answer?

Use this as a starting point to discuss new technologies, legal modernization, and strategies for adaptation with your teams. Click here to download the summary.