2022 ‘Future Prepared Lawyer’ Survey Finds that Complexity of Info and Purchasers’ Expectations Are Driving Larger Reliance on Tech

Authorized professionals face larger strain than ever earlier than, pushed by the “VUCA” setting of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, however corporations which might be well-equipped for the longer term are these which might be optimizing their individuals, processes and know-how by means of a path of steady enchancment.

So says the 2022 version of The Wolters Kluwer Future Prepared Lawyer, a survey report that Wolters Kluwer Authorized & Regulatory U.S. has printed for every of the final 4 years. It polled 751 authorized professionals from the U.S. and 10 European international locations to measure how effectively ready organizations are to drive greater efficiency.

Amongst its key findings, the report says that the authorized professionals it surveyed agree that three tendencies can have essentially the most influence throughout the authorized sector over the subsequent three years:

• The growing significance of authorized know-how – 79%.
• Dealing with the elevated quantity and complexity of data – 79%.
• Assembly altering consumer and management expectations – 79%.

However whilst they acknowledge these tendencies, simply 36% or fewer attorneys consider their group could be very ready to maintain tempo with any of those tendencies.

One thing else that can considerably influence attorneys are new and rising areas of regulation, the survey discovered. Particularly:

• 77% of survey respondents report that dealing with rising and rising compliance areas, reminiscent of environmental, social and governance (ESG) and knowledge privateness, is a major pattern.
• 56% of company attorneys and 45% of regulation agency attorneys report elevated calls for for ESG steering over the previous yr. Most say their group shouldn’t be very ready to maintain up.

One other main pattern recognized by this yr’s report pertains to how authorized work will get performed and who’s doing it:

• Amongst these in company authorized departments, 84% report larger use of contract employees, larger use of non-legal employees to carry out work, and larger use of other authorized service suppliers.
• Amongst these in regulation corporations, 81% report larger use of third-party or outsourced assets, 78% report larger use of non-legal employees to carry out work and larger use of contract employees, and 77% report extra consumer self-service.

The findings construct on prior years’ survey outcomes referring to efficiency tendencies, which present that throughout a variety of areas, authorized organizations that absolutely leverage know-how outperform organizations that don’t.

Particularly, the survey once more this yr discovered that regulation corporations that absolutely embrace know-how are extra worthwhile than these that don’t, with 63% of those so-called Expertise Main corporations reporting that their profitability elevated over the previous yr, in comparison with 46% of different corporations.

Which applied sciences do authorized professionals contemplate most essential?

• These in regulation corporations ranked an important applied sciences as doc administration, cybersecurity and encryption instruments, and digital courtroom proceedings.
• These in authorized departments listed: authorized matter administration, contract administration software program and contract analytics; doc administration; cybersecurity and encryption instruments; e-signature instruments, and entity administration.

The survey requested in regards to the “nice resignation” over the previous yr and located a tangible influence on the authorized career:

• 86% of company attorneys and 70% of regulation agency attorneys say the nice resignation has had a really or considerably important influence on their group.
• 70% of company attorneys and 58% of regulation agency attorneys say they’re very or considerably prone to depart their present place within the subsequent yr.

Lower than a 3rd of authorized organizations stated they’re well-prepared to deal with the expertise churn. However the majority of respondents agree that know-how is a crucial think about retaining and attracting expertise: 87% of company attorneys and 83% of attorneys in regulation corporations say this can be very or essential to work for a authorized group that leverages know-how.

As in previous years, the survey discovered that know-how capabilities are essential to purchasers’ analysis of each present and future agency relationships:

• 91% of authorized departments say it is going to be essential for the regulation corporations they use to completely leverage know-how.
• 97% of authorized departments do or will ask corporations they’re contemplating to explain the know-how they use to be extra productive and environment friendly.
• The highest cause for which authorized departments would swap regulation corporations is that if the agency didn’t exhibit effectivity and productiveness. Solely 38% of company attorneys say their present agency makes use of know-how effectively to drive productiveness and effectivity.

“The information is obvious: Expertise Leaders thrive,” the report concludes. “Yr after yr, they outperform different organizations throughout a number of essential metrics and exhibit why investing in and making use of the precise know-how issues.”

The complete survey report, which incorporates additional findings throughout regulation corporations, company authorized departments, know-how, expertise and tendencies, in addition to particular sections on the influence of ESG and insights from authorized business luminaries, might be downloaded at Wolters Kluwer Future Prepared Lawyer 2022.

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[Disclosure: The Future Ready Lawyer Survey report included a section of “Insights from Luminaries” on trends in technology and legal sector transformation. I was among those who contributed commentary. I received nothing of value for my contribution.]