It’s easy for us, as lawyers, to get caught up in the detail. It’s what we were trained to do. It also used to be helpful for much of the work we used to do. But, it can also prevent us from thinking more strategically, stuck in a loop of “yes, but” responses rather than “yes, and” making our world of opportunities smaller when it could be so much bigger.

The need for this fundamental mindset shift resonated throughout the Centre for Legal Innovation (CLI)-Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA) Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021 in February – it was evident in every session. This was not surprising since this was an event conceived to support the transformation of mindsets after all! However, it was one of the few events that I have attended for a while where the discussions were NOT dominated by answering the “why should we change” question but instead focussed on exploring how the legal ecosystem had changed, the different ways that this is now manifesting itself and, collectively, just how different legal practice has become around the world. So, in answer to the question posed in this post, I left the Week with the clear impression that we were no longer “building” but had already “built” the next legal practice and it’s not a case of one-size-fits all!

As if made to underscore this point, the third biennial Alternative Legal Service Providers: 2021 Report was released as the Week closed. Why was it significant? Because less than a decade ago, we knew little about ALSPs but now, it’s all about dropping the “alternative” part of name because ALSPs have gone mainstream! Still not convinced? Here’s some snippets from the Report (these were also reflected in discussions during the Week):

• Despite the pandemic, ALSPs expanded, significantly and mostly in collaboration with law firms and in-house legal departments, to “an estimated $13.9 billion market for legal services by the end of 2019, compared with $10.7 billion…in 2017” so, growing at the rate of about a billion dollars a year – not too shabby!
• The fastest growing ALSPS were those linked to law firms – the new depth and breadth of legal services and products in the market is reflected in this statistic. So too is the drive towards increased collaboration through connected specialist providers (internal and external) and multi-disciplinary teams to deliver these services/products.
• The largest area of growth was consulting on legal technology – no surprise here, digital labour and how it combines with human labour is the future of legal work and practice AND the need for every legal business to have an agile digital strategy, THE critical strategic focus right now.
• Australia led the world in engaging the broadest range of ALSP services – again, no surprise, Australia is a highly competitive market with a flourishing legaltech community – it’s not a mistake that Ashurst has one of its global delivery centre in Brisbane and Lander & Rogers (in partnership with YBF Ventures) has two, yes two, legaltech hubs – one in Melbourne and the other in Sydney.

What is the NEXT Legal Practice?

We dedicated two one day virtual workshops at the end of Week one and again at the end of week two, designed by KPMG, to answer this question. They were intended as a capstone – an opportunity to draw together the learnings and practical, candid experience sharing on leading change, reinventing legal business, people, and client experience, that had preceded the workshops in Week one. The workshops were an experiment and an exercise in diversity, equity, and inclusion but also, we hoped, a model for how many, complex issues could be explored by participants in their own firms/organisations going forward. We wanted to create a safe place for candid conversations; hear from everyone no matter what their role or specialism; identify core characteristics of the NEXT legal practice, what they were and how they were different; and, demonstrate a process through which this could be investigated to inform change and transformation…here’s what we found (these characteristics were also reflected throughout the Week):

a. Mindset shift

As mentioned earlier, one of the most consistent things we heard during the Week (and at CLI we hear almost every day too) is that people in legal practices doing things differently have undergone a mindset shift. It’s much more than adopting some technology (more on that below) or adding “innovation” in different places on the website. It’s more O-Shaped in thinking and approach (optimistic, taking ownership for outcomes, open minded, holistic and creative), which, in many respects, is the antithesis of how lawyers were (and in many places still are) trained in law school but, not how the many other professionals who are now increasingly work in legal practice have been trained – in fact, that’s one of the huge benefits of a multi-disciplinary workforce and looking outside the legal industry for practice based solutions (more on that below). It’s about rethinking everything from what drives and sustains a legal practice through every aspect of service and product delivery and, how that can be continuously improved. This is not the “build-set-entrench” model of the past, it’s the “bend, buy, build – test - iterate” model. This sort of mindset shift happens for some all at once and as revelation, but for most, incrementally and as an evolution.

Key takeaway: There are many different ways to shift mindsets. In the legal market right now not shifting and doing nothing is no longer one of the options.

b. Client Centricity and Experience

Building a legal practice around client needs and expectations is not something we have done in the past, or not done as well as we could. One of the most significant, positive outcomes of COVID 19 has been the reversal of the lawyer centric to a client centric approach to legal practice. For every document signed with an e-signature, wills witnessed by video, and court hearings conducted online, we saw the law being brought to clients and not clients to the law. We had to view legal practice and the law through the eyes of our clients, remove their pain points and any inconvenience and deliver a user-friendly service/product that resolved their matter (end-to-end and not point-to-point) in the most cost effective, time efficient way, and without compromising quality. More than ever before, most of us discovered, explored, and took action on, the meaning of client centricity! This is so much more than sending out a client survey at the end of a matter. It’s about redefining our client relationships, making sure at every point of contact we are responsive, purposeful, collaborative, transparent, respectful, listening and finding new ways to solve problems and communicate better. COVID 19 helped us build a new experience for our clients - it’s become the foundation of the new legal ecosystem and changed how we work with our clients forever!

Key takeaway: Our clients are not comparing our service/product delivery to another legal practice. They are comparing us to the best service/product they have received from anyone, any where in the world.

c. Technology - Bend, Buy or Build?

Technology is an integral part of every legal practice – we’re a tech-fuelled industry! Tech has made legal work more effective and efficient internally, and also made services/products more accessible for clients externally – think automation, bots, and so the list goes on all the way to the entirely virtual legal practice. But that list can also be overwhelming - there’s lots of tech out there and everyone seems to have a favourite. In two of the on-demand sessions for the Week facilitated by Fiona McLay (session one and session two), we learned how 12 practitioners used/prioritised tech in their practices and how it lies at the heart of legal practice today.

In the How to Develop a Digital Strategy session, Matthew Vaughan eloquently captured a lot of discussion around how to choose the right tech with the phase “bend, buy, build.” First, check to see if your tech already has the functionality you need and, if not, BEND it until it does or, to coin another popular phrase, “love the tech you’re with.” Second, if you need something you haven’t yet acquired, then BUY it, but make sure it works with what you have – you want interoperability (seamless connection on one platform for you and your clients – APIs rule!) not a bunch of different tech working from different platforms that you are constantly navigating and jumping in and out of – that won’t increase efficiency or effectiveness, in fact, it’s likely to decrease productivity! And finally, if you don’t have it and can’t buy it, then BUILD it, but you don’t have to do it alone. There are law firms and in-house legal departments that have the capabilities to build their own tech and sell it too as Gilbert + Tobin recently demonstrated. For those firms and legal departments that don’t have that skill set internally, they can collaborate with tech developers to build what they need, develop it through legaltech hubs/incubators/accelerators, or even opt for a pick and pay option from one or more of the emerging legaltech platforms.

Key takeaway: Legal practices can’t afford “random acts of tech”– it’s important to plan. Tech needs to be viewed as a business investment, not an expense. Legal practices round the world are grappling with many similar tech issues - given that tech is borderless, solutions in one place will very likely be applicable elsewhere. Every legal practice needs a digital strategy, and this also must be accompanied by a comprehensive, ongoing focus on firm/organisation-wide digital literacy.

d. Data

The legal industry, like most others, has loads of data, it just hasn’t done much with it…until now! In broad terms, data can be used to monitor, manage, support and improve processes, systems and even human performance – it helps with the efficiency of service/product delivery; data analytics can assist legal decision making by revealing consistencies and anomalies in all manner of document reviews, legal cases, and, to understand/interpret relevant matter trends from internal data or even more broadly when combined with external big data; predictive analytics can help anticipate client preferences, customise client experience, direct business strategy, focus marketing and business development; predictive analytics is also redefining the approach to risk management (making it more proactive than reactive) as it identifies, with greater precision, when mistakes are likely to be made, by whom and how – very important as we witness the increasing focus on compliance. It’s become critically important to upskill in all things related to data. Every legal practitioner needs to understand what data they have and prioritising what is needed to make better decisions for their legal practice, provide better advice to their clients, help clients make better decisions, and anticipate what decisions will need to be made when, where, how and by whom.

Key takeaway: Data is everyone’s responsibility in the next legal practice – you need to know what you have, know how to use it and prioritise what matters!

e. Work and Ways to Work

Technology has redirected routinised tasks from lawyers to others – other professionals and/or tech/AI. It’s created the opportunity for lawyers to more squarely focus on using their experience and their humanity to solve complex problems for their clients. To achieve the optimal balance of human versus digital labour, legal practices have had to disaggregate every legal matter; determine what pieces lawyers must do and what pieces are best done by other professionals; then work out how they collaborate on and package some or all the pieces in a way that is cost effective, adds value for the client, and turns a profit. And, along the way, work out for themselves if it’s all worth it, why they want to do it, and who they want to work with to get it done. All this requires informed and deliberate choices that, at their core, recognise how work has changed from hands to heads to hearts!

There isn’t a one-size fits all model for legal services/products now. Some practices deliver one-stop-shop solutions (providing holistic advice, usually in a formal or informal collaboration with other professionals) where legal advice is just one part. Others productize their services (selling a package or product). All of them work in some ways similarly, but others differently, with multi-disciplinary professionals (see more on this below).

Again, as an almost happy coincidence, as the Week drew to a close, this change in work and the consequent changes in workplaces, was illustrated in an announcement by Spotify of its new “work from anywhere” program. The program supports Spotify’s 6,550 global employees in their choice to work in the office, from home, or at an employer paid for co-working space. Employees are required to commit to an option a year in advance and have their manager’s approval. While Spotify is not a law firm, the announcement was a clear indication of how the future of work is being redefined and, the pressing need for legal practice to be ready, willing, and able to accommodate it to attract top talent.

But, working out where people work and when is the tip of the iceberg, what lies below are the more complex questions of establishing or maintaining culture in a distributed team; mental health issues arising from isolation; maintaining relationships with colleagues (and clients) via digital communication platforms; leading, coping with and remaining resilient in the face of constant change. While many of these matters are not new, during COVID they came into the spotlight, took on a new sense of urgency, required a different approach to relationship building and communications, and provided an additional opportunity for us to focus on our humanity. These issues remain at the forefront of the people-first strategy adopted by next legal practices – it’s also worth noting here that the overwhelming majority of people attending the Connecting the Dots Between People and Business Performance live session, ranked this strategy above a client-first strategy!

Key takeaway: The work done in legal practice has changed. How that work is done, where, when and by whom has changed. Traditional work practices are no longer aligned to the work undertaken in contemporary legal practice.

f. Workforce Capabilities and Employee Experience – The rise of the multidisciplinary practice?

The capabilities required to deliver legal services/product today can’t be achieved by one person. A lawyer can’t do it all and, it’s contrary to good business sense and personal well-being to try. As the more routinised parts of legal work continue to be done better, cheaper, and faster by tech and AI, it’s the complex problem-solving skills, the ones where legal experience trumps knowledge, where creativity trumps repetition, where lawyers will continue to add real value. So, what is happening to all the other work? It’s being undertaken by the plethora of other professionals/specialists - often referred to as allied professions and NEVER referred to as non-lawyers or support staff - who can do that work better, cheaper, and faster too!

We’re talking multi-disciplinary teams here but not like we have defined that in the past. These are teams where all talent is treated equally and everyone is heard; where ideas are NOT selectively constrained; where reward is based on contribution and outcomes, not seniority and billable hours; where everyone is rewarded for their contribution and not because of their title; where everyone has the opportunity for career advancement and learning; and, when matter are successfully completed, everyone is acknowledged publicly for the part they have played! These are teams of professionals focussed on what they do best in their area of specialism and engaged where and when required – full-time, part-time, on demand, etc. In these teams, the focus shifts from hierarchy, title and tenure to talent and client.

Multidisciplinary teams are, however, also about more than effective and efficient internal services/product delivery. As clients expect more holistic solutions to their issues/matters/problems, these professionals have the additional capabilities needed. Multidisciplinary teams viewed in this way, lead to multiple revenue streams for legal practices. For many firms (right now just a few), legal advice may become just one of their income streams. This sort of business expansion is an interesting twist for legal practices to move from legal services to more at the same time the Big 4 accounting firms are adding legal services into their “more". This irony has prompted commentary that by 2025, for in-house legal practices, some work once the exclusive domain of the legal department will always be done outside in the broader business – the emphasis here is on “always” as the increased use of business wide self-service in legal departments is already well advanced. But the other big question here is whether this is also signalling, for private practice, the rise in number (perhaps even a majority) of once legal and now multi-service business i.e., where the “legal” part of practice will no longer have prominence! Exploring that is definitely going to take a few more Innovation and Legaltech Weeks!

For now and today, the next legal practice is all about aligning workforce capabilities to client needs and creating business performance goals that reflect this. It’s also about not just attracting but ensuring you retain top talent. People want to work for organisations where they matter. They want to work in organisations/firms that stand for and stand up for the right things, things that align to their personal values. These workplaces are not about billing by the hour until you drop. They are about businesses making a profit but in doing that, they are also investing in its longevity by ensuring ALL their people can bring their whole selves to work, feel safe, respected, heard, valued, and rewarded for their contribution.

Key takeaway: Workforce capabilities in contemporary legal practice need to be multi-disciplinary. Employee experience trumps client experience and good mental health and employee well-being always matter!

g. Creating and Sustaining Innovation – The next normal

As we slowly move through the global pandemic and come out the other side, many businesses, and especially legal businesses, will be left with a choice – to default to the pre-COVID status quo or build back better. This question found its way into many of the sessions during the Week. It was also the subject of one of the on-demand sessions – Sustaining Legal Transformation – Is It Possible? The verdict was….we can expect more change, but not without leadership!

Where we once looked almost exclusively to experienced legal practitioners in law firms to take up the transformational leadership reigns – and some have – we’re now finding instead or in addition, more early to mid-career professionals stepping up and stepping out. On the B2B side, ALSPs have led in this space and now, in-house lawyers are assuming the role of industry change agents too. On the B2C side, the internet has provided consumers with ready access to legal knowledge and, during COVID, technology demonstrated that legal service and product delivery need not be difficult or inconvenient. There’s just too much momentum on all fronts for the legal ecosystem to reset to zero.

And so, legal practices in the next (or now) normal, don’t, can’t and won’t operate the same way as traditional legal practices. We’ve discussed earlier the different ways in which next legal practice view and work with tech, data, clients, and people - that’s not where it ends. These practices are structured differently too – they must be – they need the sort of culture and an organisational structure that celebrates change, promotes innovation, different and new ideas. There’s no time to work through a hierarchy, write proposals, form committees, and pilot programs. These are places where flat structures, no titles, resilience, and the deployment of agile management concepts make it possible to turn ideas into action quickly, have a laser focus on mid-course corrections, collaborate with clients like colleagues, and understand the critical importance of experimentation. These are different legal businesses on all axes – vertical and horizontal - where success is not measured by the billable hour but instead, are profitable because people want to come to work (wherever that place may be) and clients have what they need to be successful!

Key takeaway: The momentum for change in the legal ecosystem took a giant step forward during COVID. It will not reset to zero.

THE Words to Remember…

I’ll leave you here with the words spoken most often, referred to, or repeated throughout the Week…these are the words CLI will build from and around in 2021. I hope you find them helpful as you reflect, reset, and build (or refine) your next legal practice…we look forward to supporting your journey!

Want to catch up on the sessions you missed at the CLI-ALPMA Innovation and Legaltech Week 2021?

Throughout this post, I’ve referenced (with hyperlinks from key words), some of the live and on-demand sessions available during the Week. If you would like to see all 34 sessions and access them 24/7 on demand and for FREE, you’ll find them here:

• Videos in the CLI-Collaborate (CLIC) free resource hub here 
• Podcasts in the CLI The Legalpreneurs Podcast series here 

Please share these links with your colleagues and friends. We’ll be revisiting them, reminding you about them, and featuring them, throughout this year too.

We’ve said it many times but it’s worth repeating – to the 1,624 of you who registered/attended this event from 56 countries, thank you for making this one of the largest virtual, global and most inspiring events of its kind, ever; to our 41 sponsors and supporters, we are so grateful and thank you for making it possible to create this amazing learning community; to our faculty – all 144 of you from 13 different countries – thank you for donating your time and experience, none of this would have been possible without you and your incredible generosity; and, to our co-host, ALPMA – thanks so much for being an amazing partner and, we can’t wait to do this again with you!

About the Author

Terri Mottershead is the Executive Director of the Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific) at The College of Law. Terri works internationally with leaders of legal businesses supporting them in identifying trends, developing strategies, and transforming their capabilities and practices to deliver legal services/products in the new legal ecosystem. She is the “developer and designer in chief” for CLI’s global initiatives, networks and programs including the Legalpreneurs Lab, CLI Innovation Incubator Program and the Chief Innovation Officers Forum. Prior to joining CLI, Terri was a practising lawyer, founded start-ups on three different continents, and established or led the in-house talent management departments for global firms and associations in Asia and the US including Lex Mundi, the Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA) and DLA Piper LLP (US).