A new white paper has just been published that explores the pace of change in the Australian legal industry and explores the technological and social trends driving it.
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Following is a synopsis and you can access and download the paper at
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http://www.lexisnexis.com.au/paceofchange
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The report is based on the findings of a round table of panellists hosted here in Sydney, which included:
– ??Katrina Johnson, Director of Legal Affairs at eBay Australia and New Zealand,
– ??Nick Abrahams, Norton Rose and Vice President of the Australian Communications and Media Law Association
– ??Marc K Peter, Director of Technology at LexisNexis
Is a depression-prone personality a pre-existing issue for new lawyers entering the profession?
?It seems that there is something about the people who choose to do law that makes them more prone to depression than anybody else. I think that’s something that we need to look at with the universities, because what we’re getting far too often is young lawyers who are already either suffering depression or prone to depression.?
? ?Sharon Cook, Managing Partner, Henry Davis York
The need to address law students perception of the legal role
?I think there’s a real opportunity at the education stage to help set realistic expectations as to the realities of legal practice. Getting people from different facets of the legal profession – whether it’s in-house, government, private practice or community groups – to come and speak with law students about what it’s really like to be a lawyer, is important.?
? ?Katrina Johnson, Director of Legal Affairs, eBay Australia and New Zealand
What the ?democratisation of information? means for lawyers
– ??I think there?s a super-trend, if you like, which is the democratisation of information. As lawyers, our stock in trade is the fact we?ve got information other people don?t. I think what social media does is it unlocks that and potentially undermines the traditional role of the lawyer as being the person who had sole right or had sole knowledge of the law.?
? Nick Abrahams, Former Sydney Chairman and Partner, Norton Rose
– ?Maintaining an active online profile through continuous engagement is therefore essential to ensure a lawyer?s brand is front of mind during best practice discussions. ?
Billing and in-house?s procurement of outsourcing
?From a client perspective, I certainly do have a problem with the billable hour, and I know many of my counterparts in other companies do as well. ?Businesses don?t measure performance in terms of how many hours we put into our work. We measure value, and we want a return on investment. I think part of the problem with the billable hour model is that it doesn’t necessarily give a return on investment that’s sufficient, nor does it encourage efficiency.?
? ?Katrina Johnson, Director of Legal Affairs, eBay Australia and New Zealand
Globalisation driving the survival of the fittest
Across the industry, it is predicted there is opportunity available for a maximum of 20 global firms to operate. The legal industry will begin to experience ?the survival of the fittest?.
Executive summary
The world is changing, and changing fast. However, popular perception remains that the legal industry is slow to react. Be it the adoption of social media, changing entrenched billing processes or even the feeling of long hours and high pressure ? the view remains one of dusty mahogany courts and bewigged elderly white men. Simply put, the public thinks the legal industry lags behind the times.
However, as with all industries, technological and social trends are forcing legal firms both small and large, in-house teams and even teaching establishments, to evolve.
LexisNexis ? a leading provider of content-enabled workflow solutions including legal, news and business information ? staged a roundtable to investigate how radically we can expect the legal industry to be transformed by the current pace of change.
Objectives of the roundtable:
The roundtable was set up to identify and explore:
How the legal industry ? including large, mid and small law, in-house counsel and other influencers ? is being affected by the pace of change;
How societal and technological trends are affecting law firms in a number of areas including:
Depression and the impact on legal life;
Social media and the effect of real-time communication;
Billing;
Globalisation of firms and the rise of niche firms;
Whether the local legal industry is in a position to refute suggestions it is ?behind the times?.
Findings:
A number of factors are negatively affecting the legal mindset, including increasing commercialisation of the industry, information overload, the lack of human contact, and inadequate support and mentoring for young lawyers;
However, there is a feeling that firms are employing young lawyers with pre-existing problems ? whether due to the personality type the legal profession attracts, or exacerbated by the differences between the perceptions and the realities young lawyers have of the role;
The internet?s role in the democratisation of information has undermined the legal professional?s traditional role as the knowledge-holder;
Social media impacts heavily on confidentiality and liability. While policies and training are essential, lawyers must understand that their online profiles and communications, private or otherwise, reflect not only themselves but also their organisations;
A perception gap exists between private and in-house views on the billable hour. The legal focus on quantities of time must increasingly align with organisational focuses on deliverables and return on investment;
Firms are increasingly being seen as ?interchangeable? by clients. In such landscapes, price becomes the foremost differentiator; across the industry, it is predicted there is opportunity available for a maximum of 20 global firms to operate. The legal industry will begin to experience ?the survival of the fittest?.
