The legal industry is seeing a clear paradigm shift. Law practice is changing so the attorneys that do not adapt quickly lose clients or simply do not get new ones. Also, there are brand new opportunities that appear in the industry. Every single legal business changed with things like concierge-level client support and automation as examples of different things that have to be taken into account.
Joey Langston also highlights that there are fewer employment opportunities available due to technological advancements. If you want to understand the industry, you need to be aware of the following trends that are changing it.
Legal Process Outsourcing
The legal industry is showing clear changes in used delivery models. Legal services are carried out in different ways. Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) is one of the new models everyone has to be aware of. This means you can outsource work of attorneys, paralegals and many other legal professionals to overseas or domestic vendors. Geography is no longer limiting who you work with. You can do legal outsourcing offshore or onshore.
Industry Monopoly Does Not Exist Anymore
Some years ago, when you needed legal advice, you needed to talk to lawyers. There was absolutely no competition available. When legal knowledge was needed, talking to attorneys was necessary. The monopoly created then by law firms and lawyers made it easy to charge really large fees for consultations and many other services. Nonprofit organizations, government entities and corporations relied on lawyers for viable legal information.
Nowadays, the traditional legal service access ways changed thanks to the evolution of technology. The industry was democratized. Intelligence and legal resources are more and more accessible, all through the click of a mouse. Numerous technological platforms are available to offer legal advice at very low costs.
Globalization
The way in which lawyers do business was change by globalization. The internet grew and there were many key developments made in legal process automation, data security and different other emerging technological tools. All of these have a huge impact on the way in which legal business is done. The law firms expand beyond borders that were possible in the past. Thanks to globalization, we are faced with higher productivity and enhanced service delivery. This is a trend that will surely continue.
Virtual Law Firms
Nowadays, legal professionals can practically do business from any place in the entire world. This is why it is normal to see a growth in the number of available virtual law offices. Modern communication platforms and smart mobile devices make things easy for law firms. The lawyers have alternative methods to do their business at home, all with highly flexible work hours. It is much easier to make time to deal with personal issues and spend time with families, all without work life being affected.
Final Thoughts
Every single lawyer that is interested in doing business these days has to adapt to what is happening in the industry. Those that do not are going to end up faced with low clients and many law firms are expected to go out of business in the future.
