New Future Ready Lawyer Survey from Wolters Kluwer Finds Trends and
Technology Accelerating as Legal Sector Moves Beyond the Pandemic
New Future Ready
Lawyer Survey from Wolters
Kluwer Finds Trends and Technology Accelerating as
Legal Sector Moves Beyond the Pandemic
June 15,
2021 – The
global pandemic has accelerated the ongoing transformation of the
legal profession,
with trends and priorities gaining new ground
across the board over the past
year, according to the findings of a new report
from Wolters Kluwer – the 2021 Future Ready
Lawyer: Moving Beyond the Pandemic.
The ability to use technology to optimize performance is more
important than ever, with 80% of lawyers reporting that their needs
for technology solutions have increased as a result of the
pandemic. The survey confirms that a majority of legal
professionals see digital transformation and technology as key
drivers of improved performance, efficiency and productivity ahead
as they project increased use of and investment in technology
solutions. Yet, the survey found gaps in how well-prepared legal
professionals are for what is fast becoming the new normal.
The 2021 Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyer Survey: Moving
Beyond the Pandemic, including insights from 700 legal
professionals across the U.S. and nine European countries, examines
trends and how well-prepared organizations are to drive higher
performance, post-pandemic. The independent survey, issued in March
2021, offers a unique perspective from legal professionals emerging
from the pandemic with a better understanding of its impact and
implications for the future. The report also includes 2020-2021
comparative data featuring professionals’ insights in the weeks
before the pandemic took hold, as compared to their views
today.
Findings of the 2021 Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyer Survey
are available in this report, which also includes legal industry
leaders’ analysis of the pandemic’s impact on the legal sector and
what’s ahead.
“The 2021 Future Ready Lawyer Survey findings show clearly that
the transformation of the legal profession has been accelerated by
the pandemic,” said Martin O’Malley, Wolters Kluwer Legal &
Regulatory Executive Vice President and Managing Director. “Trends
such as the importance of legal technology, the volume and
complexity of information, changing client expectations, the need
for improved performance and productivity, and new ways of working
all gained momentum in the past year. Increasingly, professionals
see digital transformation and technology at the center of their
success moving forward.”
Key Survey Findings
Overall Trends Following an exceptionally
challenging year, lawyers expect the trends they’ve already been
facing to accelerate across the board. The top trends expected to
have the most impact are:
- Increasing Importance of Legal Technology – 77%
- Coping with Increased Volume and Complexity of Information –
77%
- Meeting Changing Client/Leadership Expectations – 76%
- Ability to Acquire and Retain Talent – 76%
- Emphasis on Improved Efficiency/Productivity – 75%.
Across all trends, however, there is a significant gap between
trends and readiness to address them: 36% or fewer lawyers say
their organization is very prepared to keep pace with these
trends.
Client-Firm RelationshipsFaced with the need to
improve productivity, corporate legal departments are more
aggressively turning to technology solutions and they are
pressuring law firms to do the same:
- Within three years, 91% of legal departments will ask
prospective firms about their technology use – a 10-point increase
over 2020.
- An increasing number of corporate legal departments expect that
the law firms they work with:
- Use Technology to Deliver Best Service Possible – 78%
- Use Technology to Drive Productivity/Efficiency – 76%.
The Future Ready Lawyer Survey also revealed significant gaps
between legal departments’ expectations and law firms’ ability to
deliver on them. The disconnect may be impacting client
satisfaction: only 30% of corporate legal departments are very
satisfied with their law firms, and an increasing number plan to
switch firms: 24% say they are very likely to switch firms compared
to just 13% in 2020.
Corporate Legal DepartmentsThe pandemic
intensified pressures on legal departments, as they simultaneously
tackled bigger workloads and smaller budgets. Legal departments
participating in the 2021 Future Ready Lawyer Survey say their top
challenges are:
- Automating Routine Tasks and Leveraging Technology in Work
Processes
- Reducing/Controlling Outside Legal Costs
- Managing the Growing Demands on the Corporate Legal
Department.
To help overcome these challenges, 57% of legal departments
report they plan to increase their investment in technology over
the next three years, while 84% say they will make Greater Use of
Technology to Improve Productivity moving forward.
Faced with both cost-cutting and growing demands, legal
departments report that they are making changes to how work gets
done, and who does it. The majority of legal departments are
planning to make Greater Use of: Third-party or Outsourced
Resources (77%); Insourcing of Legal Work (76%); Contract Staff
(75%); Alternative Legal Service Providers (73%); and Non-legal
Staff (70%). Each of these areas showed increases over 2020
levels.
Yet, with change comes challenge. Just 28% of corporate lawyers
believe their organization is very prepared to Effectively
Implement Change Management Processes, and only 27% say they are
very prepared to Implement Transformational Technology.
Law FirmsLaw firms also report accelerated
changes as they move ahead. They are responding to heightened
client expectations, investing and innovating at higher levels to
drive efficiency and deliver value.
According to the Future Ready Lawyer Survey, the areas where
most law firms anticipate change in how they deliver services over
the next three years include:
- 82% expect Greater Specialization of Legal Services Offered by
Firms
- 81% expect Greater Use of Technology to Improve
Productivity
- 78% expect Increased Emphasis on Innovation
- 78% expect Greater Collaboration and Transparency Between Firms
and Clients.
Overall, 63% of law firms say they will increase their
technology investment, and as firms focus on clients’ changing
expectations 74% report they are Investing in New Technology to
Support Firm Operations and Client Work. However, there’s still
progress to be made as today only 32% are very prepared to Use
Technology to Be More Productive and just 28% are very prepared to
Use Technology to Improve Client Services.
Like corporate legal departments, law firms are also looking at
new ways of working. Compared to 2020, more law firms now
anticipate Greater Use of Non-legal Staff (69%); More Self-service
by Clients (68%); Greater Use of Third-party or Outsourced
Resources (68%); and Greater Use of Contract Staff (65%).
The full report, which also includes special sections on the
impact of the pandemic, the performance of technology leaders and
insights from legal industry luminaries can be downloaded at 2021
Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyer Survey: Moving Beyond the
Pandemic.
About the 2021 Wolters Kluwer Future
Ready Lawyer SurveyThe 2021 Future Ready Lawyer Survey:
Moving Beyond the Pandemic from Wolters Kluwer Legal &
Regulatory included quantitative interviews with 700 lawyers in law
firms, legal departments and business services firms across the
U.S. and nine European countries – the United Kingdom, Germany, The
Netherlands, Italy, France, Spain, Poland, Belgium and Hungary – to
examine how client expectations, technology and other factors are
affecting the future of law and how legal organizations are
prepared to address them. The survey was conducted online for
Wolters Kluwer by a leading international research organization
from March 4 to 18, 2021.
Wolters Kluwer Legal & RegulatoryWolters
Kluwer Legal & Regulatory is a division of Wolters Kluwer, a
global leading provider of legal and compliance solutions that
enable professionals to improve productivity and performance,
mitigate risk and achieve better outcomes. Wolters Kluwer (WKL) is
a global leader in professional information, software solutions,
and services for the healthcare; tax and accounting; governance,
risk and compliance; and legal and regulatory sectors. We help our
customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert
solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with technology and
services. Wolters Kluwer reported 2020 annual revenues of €4.6
billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries,
maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs
approximately 19,200 people worldwide. The company is headquartered
in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. For more information,
visit www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on Twitter, Facebook,
LinkedIn, and YouTube.
MEDIA CONTACT:Leslie Bonacum, Wolters Kluwer Legal &
Regulatory Communication+1 847 877
7641leslie.bonacum@wolterskluwer.com
- 2021.06.15 Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyer Survey 2021
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