Trends in the Legal Industry That Will Shape 2021
By Editorial Department.
The future of the legal industry is being shaped by a number of disruptive factors in recent times. For starters, we have advancements in technology such as Artificial Intelligence, which is beginning to supplement legal research, and may ultimately replace legal assistants.
Secondly is the global pandemic in 2020, which has had more impact on the legal industry than you may have thought. Social distancing and public safety measures, for example, have shown a need for the digitization of courtrooms and online proceedings.
In this article, we’ll explore modern trends that have shaped the future of the legal industry for 2021 and beyond.
Freelance Legal Services
Freelance lawyers have become increasingly common, as the internet has allowed them to forgo representation of a law firm. Many freelance lawyers are experienced veterans in their field, and simply choose the freedom and flexibility of taking as many or as little clients as they desire.
According to LawClerk, hiring legal freelancers is a perfectly viable solution for many legal processes, and there are over a hundred types of tasks you can delegate to freelance lawyers.
It’s simply a matter of finding the right freelance lawyer for your needs. Once you’ve assembled your rockstar team of freelance lawyers for every task you need, it’s like having your own little law firm from the comfort of your home office.
Specialised Law Firms
There is a growing urge and demand among clients to engage with firms in a manner that is quick in reaching their area of demand. Thus, specialised firms are rising, offering an ability to hit on specific legal areas.
It is even better if law firms are individually specialised in their area of practice. This will help increase engagement of concerned service seekers and moreover lawyers in specialised law firms can then become leaders in their area of specialisation.
Diversity and Inclusivity
The year 2020 saw major movements and voices being raised on a large scale, celebrating and rallying for social causes and diversity regulation.
Law firms need to appear to function as industries which are both welcoming and embracing for people of all classes of society. In a nutshell they should be more inclusive and be the flag bearers and protectors of clients coming from weaker, marginalised or stereotyped sections of the society.
Moreover the world shrinking and coming together due to the process of globalisation has also opened up avenues for greater interaction over a variety of an increased number of issues. Law firms have the opportunity to increase their outreach from a domestic or local area, to a more international scope.
This is a trend which has grown over the years gradually and the upcoming year would see this process continuing to foster.
Ensuring Quality Service
There has been an increased urge to meet standards up to client satisfaction and demands, and making the industry more value-based, promising quality and bettering client experience. This is a demand that stands as one of the most important.
Law firms are pushing hard to adapt to newer ways in order to add value, lower costs and embrace a more client-effective approach to law practice. Law firms should associate with other service providers to offer exhaustive and detailed solutions to their clients.
From chat boxes to online intake forms and from payment portals to newer technological avenues as well as Artificial Intelligence would be pivotal for law firms. Another key way for firms is to get more inventive with unconventional fee arrangements and value-added service.
Moreover, the focus of law firms should be on being transparent about costs. Law firms which set down greater attention on ensuring value-based services to client satisfaction are going to improve and be successful in2021.