Technology is transforming most, if not all, traditional industries and professions, and it is no different with Law. Besides New Law and all the changes it brings, the industry is also seeing changes in the career paths graduate lawyers are taking.
LexisNexis annual Smart Law report found out that one of the big trends resulting from the changes and challenges faced by the legal profession is that the traditional path from graduate lawyer to partner will soon no longer be the default mindset – as expectations of legal services delivery shift and new opportunities arise with new technology.
“Innovation brings new opportunities for those in the legal profession. Legal career choices are broadening as new roles are created, such as legal technologists, legal project managers, legal process analysts and more,” says Joanne Beckett, LexisNexis Australia’s managing director.
“The demands of clients in the current economy can only be met through innovation via technology that contributes to lower costs, automated tasks and increased transparency for a clearer and more collaborative relationship between the client and service provider,” she continues.
Smart Law report also showed that the key motivator for adopting technology systems for 55 per cent of the surveyed law firms is to “meet client expectations”. Despite this, the report found only 6 per cent of law firms are investing in client portals.
The report also revealed that new technologies such as business intelligence analytics and data analytics are slowly being adopted, with 11 per cent of surveyed firms currently using them.
While some see these changes as a challenge, with technology bringing expectations to deliver work faster with data-driven precision, we’d rather see it as more opportunities for problem-solving and strategic counsel.