‘We may finally be seeing the end of the “greed is good” mentality, as younger generations demand that their time be dedicated to a larger purpose than the generation of profit.’ Tamara Box, Reed Smith
As we reach our 300th issue, law firm veterans reflect on what has and must change, for better or for worse
Finding headspace
‘Intensified by Covid and endless days filled with Zoom, Teams and Meet calls, lawyers have to carve out space from busy days to find headspace to actually analyse how the law and legal tools can help solve their clients’ commercial problems. The next decade will be about the digitalisation of legal services – we will increasingly use AI to carry out research and document review and legal advice will be about layering legal judgement built on deep human experience on to the machine-generated data.’
Samantha Mobley, partner, Baker McKenzie
End of lawyers?
‘AI may have taken the place of the crystal ball but still no-one can predict with any accuracy what we will see over the next decade. Differentiation and competition in the industry will increase so clients will have ever more transparency and choice. Certainly, much of what is done by law firms today will be done by technology, or if by humans at all, not by lawyers working in law firms.’
Charles Martin, partner, Macfarlanes
Dad dancing around
‘We will need to think about the issues that will be increasingly relevant in the new economy – ESG for example. And instead of the dad-dancing approach of marketing our often traditional practices as cutting edge and in touch, we will need to reconfigure them so that they actually are. That will mean having management teams that are much more age and socially diverse.’
Philip Rodney, former managing partner, Burness Paull
Different strokes
‘The quality of graduates entering training contracts is higher than ever before and the professionalism of the selection process is light years ahead of times past. That said, a
law firm has become a staging post for a legal career not a job that spans a professional life. Lawyers are much more open and prepared to change firms than they were 30 years ago, particularly partners.’
Kevin Ingram, partner, Clifford Chance
Fresh agenda
‘The next decade in the legal industry will be shaped by technology and whether it is (and we are) able to marry flexible working and the desire for increased profitability with the necessary human interaction of law firms and of deal-doing which is, effectively, a team sport. The inclusion and diversity agenda will also have a major role to play as the legal industry seeks to retain talent and alleviate patent unfairness and underrepresentation.’
Jonathan Jones, European managing partner, Squire Patton Boggs
Blank gaze
‘We have a partner meeting once a year where we talk about strategy and the like. And I’ve become notorious for saying “I don’t have a crystal ball” when predicting market trends. My wife is into all that stuff, so one year I literally took in a crystal ball. It still didn’t work.’
Clive Zietman, head of commercial litigation, Stewarts
Broad stripes and bright stars
‘As we look forward I think you will see the Wall Street firms continue to push their advantage. Unless the Magic Circle are able to develop a strong position in the US, Wall Street firms are likely to be the long-term winners in the UK and wider Europe.’
Scott Simpson, co-head global transactions practice, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Share the pot
‘In the future you won’t have a full distribution model. There are super-talented people other than lawyers and you will have to look at how you remunerate everyone. A greater sharing of profits and not just to a small group of partners.’
Ray Berg, managing partner, Osborne Clarke
Greed isn’t good
‘It seems that we may finally be seeing the end of the “greed is good” mentality, as more egalitarian and collaborative generations demand that their time be dedicated to a larger purpose than simply the generation of profit. I suspect that this change in values will ultimately be more revolutionary than anything that has happened in the last 30 years.’
Tamara Box, managing partner – EME, Reed Smith
Legal complexity paradigm
‘What we have seen in the last 30 years is the most unbelievable increase in complexity you could ever imagine. We have moved on from a time of little regulatory change to now, where new regulation is spewed out regularly, and with good intention. But we now have a situation where no one person can know more than the law. Big and small firms alike are just trying to navigate that complexity. I worry about the next 30 years, and how even more complex it’s going to be.’
James Palmer, senior partner, Herbert Smith Freehills
Real progress needed
‘In the first week I joined Mishcon de Reya 30 years ago, it was announced that women could wear trousers in the office. Progress in addressing inequality – including gender equality – has been painfully slow since then. I hope that out of the past year’s misery the commitment expressed to accelerate the way in which we have addressed issues of under representation will be seen through and we will see real change over the next period.’
James Libson, managing partner, Mishcon de Reya