In the face of an altered horizon, while the world battles to overcome the current pandemic crisis, the future of how businesses will operate remains uncertain. Law firms are asking themselves what the future of the legal industry will look like, both with regard to office culture and financial stability.
The prospect of ‘tomorrow’ appears strikingly different depending on the size of the law firm itself. Jones Whyte, a young and future-facing firm, was operating with unlimited remote working opportunities for its lawyers and paralegals even before lockdown. Founder Greg Whyte stresses the importance of trust involved: “Having enabled complete remote-working for almost two years, we have developed two simple rules for those doing so: firstly, your remote days should be as productive as your in-office days, secondly, don’t leave a team mate in the lurch”. Longer established practices, such Brodies, have also shared their ease into the transition. Managing Partner Nick Scott praised the resilience and sense of community shown among his employees.
Interestingly, medium-sized law firms are proving to be the most innovative. According to Legal Futures, more than eight in 10 (81%) said they had adopted knowledge management/sharing technology, compared with only 69% of other firms. Research from Lexis Nexis UK also revealed they were more likely than firms of other sizes to have implemented collaboration and remote working – 82% compared to 77%.
The new normal? Remote working could remain a permanent feature among law firms © The Lawyer Portal
It seems that these adopted workflows won’t disappear as quickly as they were implemented. Loeb Leadership’s recent “The Legal Industry’s Handling of the Disruption Caused by COVID-19″ report discovered an increasing support for remote working. Two thirds (66%) of the 25 firms contacted wanted to continue working from home, if only partially, post-Coronavirus. 100% of associates surveyed said they wanted to continue working remotely, if even for just a few days a week.
Indeed, an international law firm has predicted that up to 80% of its employees will remain ‘transient’ or permanently working from home after the health crisis ends, with only one fifth being full-time office workers (Legal Futures, 2020). In a related study, a workplace design consultant warned that in the future, law firms will struggle in persuading senior partners who are comfortable working from home to come into the office and help train young lawyers, as they had done before the pandemic struck.
What is worrying, however, is the financial impact on smaller law firms in the UK. Law Society research published in May revealed that nearly three-quarters of small law firms with four partners or fewer fear they may have to close their business in the next six months due to Covid-19. Bar Council research also showed that many individual barristers and chambers are battling to stay afloat in the current climate.
Law firms have been frantically cutting costs attempting to survive the impact of the pandemic, the Financial Times reveals. They have stalled recruitment plans for all but the most important roles, including areas such as insolvency, restructuring and litigation, taking a particular toll on more junior lawyers keen to move. Indeed, in June, Slaughter and May revealed it had frozen all of its recruitment processes. Global law firm Baker McKenzie maintained that it had not paused hiring entirely but is “adopting a much more prudent approach and scrutinising our hiring needs more closely”.
Amidst the uncertainty, the legal recruitment industry upholds a positive outlook. There is still a market for lawyers at all levels in busy areas, and an increase in hiring it is predicted as global lockdowns loosen and law firms gather more solid insight into the long-term impacts of the virus.
Granted, it is unclear what the future will hold. While law firms continue to adjust to the global disruption, what is certain is that businesses will need the assistance of agile legal teams during this time and beyond.