It’s a brave new world but we’re ready for the challenge

Covid-19 has changed working practices and attitudes but legal eagles are taking advantage of opportunities as they arise, writes Kim Bower

The proud Scottish legal sector, previously seen as immune to shifting working practices, faces a double whammy of enforced and rapid change to cope with the ravages of lockdown.

The fastest route out of the crisis facing legal firms? Embracing a twin revolution: in both IT and flexible working. The shifts in both working practice and the operation of the sector means that legal firms need to be realistic about the scale of the challenges facing their sector and the speed of technological change required. Covid-accelerated changing attitudes to the importance of good mental health and home working. Creating an effective work-life balance will be increasinglyimportantforlegalfirmsandtheir employees. More importantly, the speed of technological change and innovation in the legal services marketneedstopickuppace.legalfirms still have ground to make up before they can claim to have fully revolutionised caseload management and workflow through the use of technology. Well-deployed technology and automation will enable everyone from secretaries and paralegals to solicitors and partners to work at a much higher level of productivity, removing the need for the repetitive tasks that continue to permeate the profession.

While Covid had a sharp and sudden impact on the legal sector, even before the pandemic, the profitability of law firms in Scotland was lower than the rest of the UK. Analysis of historic income and profit and loss accounts have shown that while Scottish legal firms were generatingincreasedvolumesofworkin the lead-up to the pandemic, overall, this work was priced at a lower profit margin. These financial pressures droveanumberofgloballawfirmsto mergewithwell-establishedscottish practices–anotherfactordrivingthe tech revolution.

One key platform for merger success is technology. IT integration can dictate merger timetables – the smooth and functional importance of operating platforms, workflow management, document creation and billing systems are all critical components of this. Increased technologicaladvancementswillalsocreate new roles and lucrative opportunities in the sector, which highlights the importance of lawyers in identifying and reporting on money laundering,fraud,cybersecurity,compliance and business ethics.

Meanwhile,brexit,increasedregulation, GDPR and corporate governance will continue to impact, with legal firms showing resilience in using these changes to their benefit. Clients have required extra support around the potential impact of new regulations and frameworks, which hasledtoincreaseddemandforsolicitors with regulatory and immigration experience.

Despite strong female representation in the sector, the progression of womentomoreseniorrolesisstillan obstacle facing the industry. Female solicitors represent only around 30 per cent of partnership positions, while the sector suffers a 20 per cent pay gap. Another challenge facing privatepracticefirmsremainstalent retention, with ambitious lawyers continuing to move firms for good opportunities. We’re also predicting thatthepercentageoftheprofession made up of in-house lawyers, both public and private, will grow, reflecting the changing requirements of companies and organisations on legal representation and reporting.

To attract and retain the best talent,firmshavetodifferentiatethemselvesbyofferingflexibility,clearprogression,andcrucially,accesstocutting-edge technology. Over the coming months, there will be increased demand for lawyers to advise their clients on Brexit – on employment rights, imports, exports and expansion, registration and the legal operating models of other countries. We’re also envisaging an increased demand on governance.

Looking forward, despite the global and national impacts of Covid and Brexit,thesectorhassetitselfingood steadtostabiliseandreboundquickly.whileturnoverisyettofullyrecover, and may take some time to do so, the tide is set to turn.

Kim Bower is a specialist in legal recruitment at Core-asset Consulting