Lawyers: How to adapt to the changing face of law firms

Andrew Woolley of the niche successful virtual Family law, Woolley & Co, recently observed on his firms’s ezine:

“In 20 years' time, the landscape for law firms will look very different. There could be as many as two thirds fewer law firms and large providers – people like Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda – will be offering off-the-shelf legal services that currently require the specific expertise of a law firm.

“During the recession, large numbers of lawyers have been made redundant. This is highly unusual as firms normally do what they can to hold on to their talent. So those making changes in staffing must be looking to industry changes in the future.

“Those streamlining now are probably the most forward-thinking firms and will be those best equipped to deal with the changes ahead, rather than job losses being a reaction to falling business.

“These changes have been telegraphed for some time and yet many firms have still done nothing about them. And it may be too late now.”

This is wise advice from an experienced and successful entrepreneurial lawyer. For all lawyers, the landscape of the future is going to be extremely different.

In fact, with the new technology coming into play, Andrew’s estimated figure of 70 per cent of law firms disappearing may be conservative.

The question is: how do we respond to this different market? What are the fundamental skills that a lawyer will require? Will there be a role for independent solicitors and other legal professionals, or all we all destined to be a professional working for one of these large new monoliths, if at all? Put simply, is the role of the small player lawyer dead?

Not at all. There is a role for every kind of lawyer under the sun; it’s just that you have to be proactive in searching for it.

Every lawyer just has to be clever and quite strategic in his or her thinking. Here are some pointers for guidance:

1. Find your niche. The internet – with its emphasis on web presence and the importance of search engines – is fuelling the need to be a niche player. For a small lawyer setting up his or her business, your future success depends on being an expert within a specific field or area.


2. Have complementary sources of income. Just because you are a niche professional, it doesn’t have to mean that you just do one thing. A lawyer should explore different sources of income via speaking, writing, and looking at different business models. For example, the employment barrister Daniel Barnett has other sources of income beyond his traditional barrister’s income, such as charging for advertising on his Employment Bulletins.


3. Become a legal hybrid. In his book ‘The End of Lawyers?’, Richard Susskind points the way. Susskind describes ‘legal hybrids’ as quite different to the lawyers of today who already claim that they are deeply steeped in neighbouring disciplines, as project managers, strategy and management consultants, market experts, deal-brokers, and more. As Susskind puts it: “In contrast, legal hybrids of the future will be superbly schooled and genuinely expert in these related disciplines and will be able to extend the range of the services they provide in a way that adds value for clients.” Another example is Shireen Smith of Azwrights with her expertise on the web and Intellectual Property law.


4. If you do litigation, reject the warrior approach. In her book, ‘The New Lawyer: How Settlement is Transforming the Practice of Law’, Julie Macfarlane observes that the image of the adversarial ‘client warrior’ dominates historical ideals of the lawyer. Indeed, a zealous commitment to client advocacy remains one of the core norms of the legal model. Nevertheless, she correctly asserts structural changes, both in the justice system and the legal profession itself. In particular, the shift towards conflict resolution rather than protracted litigation has rendered the ‘warrior’ notion obsolete.

Justin Patten

Justin is a commercial mediator accredited by the Academy of Experts and has been a fully qualified solicitor since 1997. Justin founded Human Law Mediation in December 2002, providing mediation solutions and training together with expertise in employment law. His firm’s website is at www.human-law.co.uk

Comments

[Boydbutler]

Good points from Andrew. Any lawyer that can generate his own business will also be safe and thrive. Sadly, most lawyers do not work hard at learning marketing skills. Which leaves them at the mercy of Partners. If you can generate your own business you are in control. And that's what all lawyers should ultimately be aiming to do. Boyd