The future of the legal industry isn’t what it used to be. Or so says a report issued by Law2023.org, a group of industry insiders — including this writer — who spent a year studying the trajectory of the legal marketplace. The approach and the findings are surprising in a number of ways, but also refreshing. The future presents both disruptive change and extraordinary opportunity, for both incumbents and newcomers.

Most views of the legal industry, particularly those posed by insiders, naturally adopt an inside-out approach, or, in other words, an approach that assumes the industry will have a say in how the future develops because we can see it coming. However, reality often presents obstacles or opportunities that are unforeseen by those deep inside. New entrants to evolving markets often have very different perspectives, unaffiliated with the status quo, allowing them to create disruptions and carve out new opportunities. But even this approach assumes there’s a clear view of the future, with different parties simply having different vantage points. What if we ignore the current state and look at the future under a different lens, envisioning how global economic, technological, and cultural change will be manifest a decade from now, and then envision a law firm built to address this world?

The group of legal market insiders, including lawyers, law firm managers, consultants, and legal service provider executives, led by the experienced provocateurs at Insight Labs, interviewed numerous experts in a variety of fields, including technology, design, economics, culture, and, of course, legal innovation. Their collective insights described a future that builds on today’s trends, with a recognition that each trend influences, and is influenced by, the others. Here are the findings.

Technology will enable lawyers to bill for real value. Many law firms embrace technology, but not typically as a means to drive efficiencies. A substantial component of lawyering is knowing where to look for an answer amidst a cacophony of sources, say, finding a relevant regulation or law. Another is knowing how to address a situation that others face infrequently, such as incorporating the right provisions in a contract. Powerful new technologies will make this information far more accessible, and some law firms will incorporate these tools to provide high-demand answers at a much lower cost, potentially broadening their offering and client base while generating handsome profits. Other law firms may eschew these services and focus on premium services where clients require creativity and imagination, and are willing to pay for it. New technologies themselves will present new legal frontiers, as with driver-less cars.

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