A new breed of suits — profiling the lawyer of tomorrow
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Disruption is coming to the legal industry. In fact, it is already here, and technology is one of the leading causes.
A Deloitte study published in 2016 predicted over 100'000 legal sector jobs in the UK alone will be automated within the next two decades. This prediction would seem to paint technology as the villain within a profession that has remained virtually unchanged for decades, if not centuries.
However, the tech-tsunami that is striking industries all across the world is also washing away jobs in the legal sector. The consequence is an opening of minds within a profession that has long been locked in tradition. It is creating a new breed of lawyer.
Needs and speed
There is no doubt that one general characteristic of the world in which we live today is the speed at which things change.
These shifts apply to many sectors within business and technology and the legal world as well. The pace of change across the board has pressurised regulators and legislators to amend guidelines and laws to keep up — but often this is not possible.
The case of regulations pertaining to Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) is just one example. The explosion of token offerings (as they are often referred to) over the past year has left regulatory bodies around the world scrambling (and scratching their heads) as they try to establish how to apply existing laws and draft new ones.
In this frantic whirlwind, legal experts have found themselves in a singularly unique position for two main reasons:
a) Not knowing how (or even if) regulators will react and
b) Advocating those same bodies to help shape existing and new regulations.
This presents a picture of a different kind of legal engineer emerging; one who is sometimes proactive but also somewhat limited in the knowledge of a new area of expertise.
In a way, this is a paradox but also indicative of what will continue to be a trend for the next generation of lawyers.
(Not) knowing it all — legal complexities
The fact of “not knowing” is perhaps one of the most unsettling aspects of the changing legal profession. It is one aspect that is not likely to reverse course.
According to Alexander Hoffman of Laux Lawyers, the time when lawyers could feel confident of their jobs, simply because they “knew the law”, is now gone. “In a world where “knowing the law” — in simple terms may become a commodity (by technology delivering ever more sophisticated, on the point answers on generic questions of law, including case research etc.), a lawyer needs to augment his or her skillset by other employing other tools which differentiate them from ‘machines’ but at the same time allowing them to ‘use the machines.’”
In other words, the lawyer of the future will have to differentiate him- or herself from the technological tools which are already encroaching. Those who refuse to use or interact with the latest tools and technologies — including smart contracts — will be left out in the cold as more and more people look to “DIY-it” for basic legal questions.
The alternative?
Position yourself at that critical point in the legal customer’s journey where he or she realises the need for more complex advice and interpretation — and be ready to “step in.”
As Hoffmann goes on to comment, the extension of “knowing the law” is “knowing your customer” — a skill that has yet to be demonstrated by robots or code bases. This makes the new breed of suits more of a legal consultant. In the broader sense, they become legal engineers who construct and fortify the framework or structure of the legal point in question rather than just being talking head full of facts and figures.
(Not) knowing it all — a brave new international world
The next generation of barristers will also find itself needing to “know” a lot more than “just the law” or just the law in his or her respective jurisdiction. The rapid expansion of globalisation means that the likelihood that a contract implemented today will be narrowly confined to one small area becomes less and less likely.
Even simple car-purchase-related agreements can now have international and interdisciplinary implications, for example, insurance side-effects, possibilities for car producers to remotely and automatically intervene and manipulate a car, open questions regarding the ownership and transfer of data such as the VIN number, driver behaviour data, intelligent transport system data (telematics) and so on…and so on.
The lawyer of the future increasingly has to be aware of so much more than the just the set of rules and regulations that were taught in law school.
Indeed, it is practically impossible to know “everything.” Entirely impossible, in fact.
This casts them (out of necessity) in the role of a facilitator — meaning that, the lawyer’s office in one town or country cannot be the “one-stop-shop” for all the services needed, but rather one link in a chain of interconnected parts that can (hopefully) meet the client’s needs.
Simply put, as people and the world of business become more and more mobile, the lawyer of the future must adapt and also become more mobile and flexible — to find customers beyond the four walls of their office and to obtain the knowledge and advice needed from other jurisdictions.
This can mean:
• joining legal advice forums
• teleconferencing
• building digital networks of partners in other areas/countries
The “mobile” experience
Speaking of mobile — the word “mobile” has other implications when it comes to describing the changes now starting to impinge upon the legal profession.
We are talking about customer experience.
What has been a critical topic in the world of technology usage for some time is only now starting to be consciously recognised in the circles of those who practice law. In short; today’s customers expect a smooth, friction-free, yes, fast — very “mobile-like” customer experience from their interactions with legal professionals.
Customers frown upon waiting for hours for documents to be issued, tedious conversations and form-filling. Indeed, the necessity of seeking legal advice may prevent a customer from entirely avoiding a personal consultation — but the more successful “suits” will be those who, at least in part, mimic the digital experience that newer and younger clients are used to in their everyday lives.
What implications might this have? Digital Q&A portals and websites are one level already being explored. However, the next key is “empowerment” — providing the client with a feeling of control, at least up to a certain point. Convenience and control are what he or she is used to in all their online interactions with businesses. Enabling a certain level of “DIY-ness” can significantly improve the customer experience — and smart lawyers strive for this by:
• providing tools to clients which allow the creation of simple (or even complex) agreements with little to no legal guidance,
• reducing wasted time when creating templates/agreements by being open to the use of advanced, intelligent technology,
• reducing on-site meetings,
• re-evaluating the billable hour approach and supporting new fee structures based on value addition.
Blockheads — lawyers and smart contracts
Without a doubt, the most significant “leap” in the world of legal-tech is that powered by blockchain-based smart contracts. Here many lawyers disappoint — they often know nothing or very little about them.
Consequently, it turns out to be relatively easy to envision what the newest breed of legal experts or legal engineers will resemble. No, they may not be programmers by trade, but they will have a solid understanding of how to construct a smart contract for a client as it pertains to the particular case in question.
Once again, however, there is the case of “knowing it all,” which we have already established as impossible for various other reasons.
The result is not so much the picture of a lawyer dressed in a hoodie and jeans cranking out lines of code — as a lawyer working very closely in connection with a blockchain developer who can build (and amend) a contract based on the blockchain.
So to recap — the lawyer of tomorrow will be:
a) more than a “dictionary” of knowledge about existing laws and regulations
b) proactive in helping shape new laws in emerging areas
c) able to use technology to interact with clients and provide a better customer experience
d) willing to cede some basic legal counselling/contract creation to clients in return for the opportunity offer advice later in the process
e) open to new ways of selling services and gaining revenue
Is every lawyer going to be suddenly transformed overnight into an unrecognisable new legal machine?
No.
However, those who refuse to change and adapt may soon take on a new form, familiar to all from ancient history books — that of a dinosaur.
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