The Future of the Business of Law is "Now"
New Orleans CityBusiness published Geoffrey William’s article "The Future of the Business of Law is “Now.” The article can be found on the CityBusiness website here or the full article is below.
In the discipline of the Future of Work, the business of law has traditionally lagged behind the more spirited industries that revolve around innovative change in technology and trends in society. The essential question has been, “Why change if the client does not demand it?” Change introduces risk and is difficult to manage and assimilate in all industries. The self-regulating legal industry with a captured market and a robust barrier to entry is often less accepting of change and even resistant to it especially when the risks of not changing are perceived as low. However, the industry is at a crossroads. The convergence of long-time emerging societal transformation, exponential technological advancement, and a worldwide pandemic has greatly accelerated the timeline in dramatic ways for the business of law.
The essential questions have become, what changes do we need to make to deliver the best value for our clients and be prepared to handle their emerging needs, attract and retain the best talent, and what technology do we need to use? In the last 25 years or so, there has been healthy growth in the number of firms hiring business professionals for firm leadership and management positions. As a result, the gap between the past and the future has narrowed for those firms. Even so, the tension between the art and tradition of the legal profession and the adoption of sound modern business principles remains an issue for most law firms. Progressive law firms generally keep pace with the demands of niche entrepreneurial clients, technology companies, and clients with similar emerging core values. But, if a law firm does not serve innovative areas of law or clients who demand change, the need to change is not felt and often not pursued.
The world is rapidly changing, and client demands and expectations are changing with it. The sophistication and pace of change in the legal market is starting to align with changes in society and the adoption of technology in general. There is a marked ongoing transition in values, priorities, and factors in decision making as business leadership shifts from prior generations to newer generations.
In the emerging future, the prevailing client mindset demands that their legal counsel proactively anticipate their needs. The commoditization of legal services, accessible market information and peer communication, social media, and the empowerment to identify and choose different counsel are contributing factors. Clients will hire counsel who identify with their values, proactively address emerging needs through an ongoing relationship, and deliver high value and relevant results in a rapidly changing environment.
Legal and workforce talent who want to work in a modern or progressive fashion that suits their professional development goals, wellbeing, family needs, and growth as a citizen of the world are or will become frustrated with outdated systems, processes, rules, or dynamics in those firms that choose to entrench themselves in the ways of working of the past, tolerate toxicity in favor of revenue production, or do not reward their overall contributions to the firm’s workplace health. More than ever, profitability depends on client relationships, an effective, timely, and contemporary work product, and the internal friction required to deliver it rather than changes to time and billing levers.
Anyone can purchase technology. The effective use of technology is the key to gains in efficiency and optimizing the work experience. Technology can bring about job and role change. Some are replaced while others are created. Artificial intelligence can perform tasks. People produce the firm’s differentiated work product. As people develop and grow, their roles should grow to provide associated challenges and rewards. That could mean exploring iterations of the firm’s positional structure or moving people into an entirely different part of the structure. Firms that insist on hierarchical structure with rigidly defined roles and responsibilities will struggle to retain their workforce. Their future is at risk.
The law firm of the future is one that orients itself toward a multigenerational workforce driven by a multifaceted approach to wellbeing. The whole person is important, not merely what can be produced. Professional development and upskilling are critical to support a growth-minded professional. Workforce health, mental health, and resilience come from a high-quality work environment that fosters workplace connections and collaboration, healthy work relationships, and personal wellbeing. Ultimately, client service and best outcomes, given the facts of a case, are driven by people doing their best work when they have joy and connection in their work and are not smothered by their work.
When a firm proactively fosters its future, its recruiting function transitions from finding the rare right person for a position to making sure it turns away great candidates in favor of even better candidates. People want to work where they are valued, are included, can uniquely contribute, produce a high-quality work product for clients, work on quality projects, find success in their practice, earn a great living, grow, are recognized and supported, have connection and can have a life outside of the office. This is the intentional pursuit of an exceptional future-oriented law firm.