Future Prospects Of Lawyers In 2030 – A Huge Challenge
The future of lawyers – it wasn’t just the topic of the 64th American Lawyers’ Conference last week in Miami, Florida. The ALC had previously had an extensive study carried out on this subject. What does it look like?
The study paints a comprehensive picture of the current state of the legal profession and takes an interesting look at its likely future development. Approx. 560,000 lawyers are currently practicing in the USA. The competition is enormous, especially since various consulting firms, especially banks and insurance companies, are increasingly providing legal advice due to the relaxation of the legal advice. Amazingly, according to their own statements, only a small part of the legal profession is doing poorly economically. Nevertheless, the prospects, especially for individual general lawyers, are not exactly rosy.
Legal services market
This subject of the study already reveals the perspective that has been changing for several years. It is no longer the exaggerated view of the lawyer as a fighter for law and justice that determines the view, but rather the sober view of the legal work as an offer to the public to offer the most qualified service “law” possible, shapes the expectations.
Specialization is the future
A highly qualified offer in the field of law is hardly possible for the general attorney. The market demands specialization. Whether in the segments of labor law, family law, and tenancy law or in the commercial fields of company formation, contract drafting or bankruptcy: Without special qualifications in the respective area of law, a well-founded legal activity is no longer conceivable; bankruptcy attorney plays role in this regard,for detail visit the site attorneydebtfighters.com.
End of the “generalists” in sight?
As in the medical field, law seekers expect well-founded advice on their respective questions from appropriate specialist lawyers. According to the study, the number of general law firms previously often run by “generalists” will become fewer and fewer in the future. In their place, law firms with specialists for the respective areas of law will find an expert for the respective legal problem for every question of everyday life.
The big eat the little
As a result – according to the study – the small law firms will disappear more and more, if not entirely. The study therefore also has recommendations for individual lawyers. According to the study, individual and general lawyers are the most inactive in acquisition. Here, the relaxation of the lawyer’s advertising opportunities must be used much well.
Individual lawyers must also develop firm-specific unique selling points and highlight them in advertising. It is also important to network with specialized law firms, to react quickly to questions from those seeking legal advice and to make an early cost and risk assessment that is transparent for the client.
Business advisory firms are doing best
The investigation revealed a clear result: Commercial law firms that also operate internationally are in the best economic position. These law firms usually also have the most modern management, their own homepage, their own network and electronic mandate files. In smaller general law firms these possibilities are not used enough; a surprising number of law firms do not even have their own homepage.
Changed job description
The attitude of young lawyers to their profession has changed positively. Young lawyers are committed but also strive for a balance between work and private life. The lawyer’s job description as an “autistic file eater” is being phased out.
This makes it increasingly difficult for law firms to find young lawyers who do not leave the office before 10 p.m. The ideas of “work-live balance”, of part-time work and parental leave have taken hold of at least some of the young lawyers. In the future, the lawyer must also take these aspects into account in other personnel management.
The new generation of non-lawyer employees in a law firm also attach great importance to their private life in addition to their work. The demand for flexible solutions in terms of the compatibility of work and private life, the granting of parental leave for women and men who want to combine careers and children, are part of the process if qualified personnel is to be recruited.
Time to act
The study assumes that some of the legal profession is still not aware of the problem and that the scope for action is not being used. On the other hand, it can also be seen that the legal profession has always managed to adapt to changes in good time.
The demand for more entrepreneurial thinking had arrived in the legal profession. The study therefore assumes that the majority of the legal profession will be able to respond appropriately to the challenges of the future.
