Last fall, Wolters Kluwer released the sixth annual installment of the Future Ready Lawyer report. Time has flown and the legal profession has moved just as quickly, if not faster. Consider the inaugural 2019 survey that asked 700 lawyers across the U.S. and Europe to “assess their current state and future priorities and preparedness to identify what it will take to be future ready.” It found that 69% of responding attorneys believed that understanding which technologies to deploy was important — which of course implies that 31% did not find it important. Additionally, no consensus was reported on which technologies would have an impact.
The 2019 survey also identified top challenges — addressing technology, dealing with increased complexity and volume of data, and managing changing client and leadership expectations — that less than 40% of respondents felt they were prepared to address by 2022. Additionally, fewer than 24% said they understood transformational technologies such as AI. And only 53% of lawyers indicated their organization’s technology investment would increase over a 3-year period that would end in 2022.
All of this tracks with the traditional perception of the legal profession as an industry that proceeds cautiously — and slowly — in the direction of new technologies. However, notable exceptions are present. Legal professionals were some of the first to adopt online full-text research. The legal industry was ahead of the curve in the use of word processing features and plug-ins. And e-discovery leveraged search, AI, and semantic processing well before the typical corporate IT department had those items on their radar.
The respondents of the 2019 Future Ready Lawyer report could not have anticipated the seismic global events on the horizon that would shape the direction of legal services. In 2020, lockdowns due to COVID-19 pushed an otherwise cautious and deliberate industry forward. Zoom and Teams calls became the norm as online meetings were essential to preserve communication with staff and clients who couldn’t meet physically. Online research spiked as attorneys who might have still reached for a printed publication were unable to access content in any other way but electronically. And digital signature platforms like DocuSign became cemented as the de facto way to complete and memorialize transactions.
The changes driven by the pandemic kept firms and law departments busy while the world prepared to change once again. On November 30, 2022, ChatGPT3.5 Turbo was released and promptly went viral. For the first time, managing partners at firms began to truly care about technology.
Case in point: The 2023 Future Ready Lawyer survey demonstrated a consensus among a wide majority of respondents (87%) that technology had improved their work, while 91% of lawyers surveyed felt that access to the latest tools and technology was important. One year, the 2024 Future Ready Lawyer report would show that 76% of law department attorneys and 68% of law firm attorneys use GenAI at least once per week — a frequency that suggests lawyers may be experimenting with GenAI technology on a personal level, that lawyers are actually using the technology, which is extremely important. Many well-intentioned technology projects die because of a lack of adoption.
Meanwhile, even as the number of new technology startups and GenAI products continues to multiply, AI governance remains an emerging topic. Firms and law departments will need to keep ensuring users are trained and informed in how to use GenAI technologies. They will need to understand the ethical use and have an awareness of AI bias. And transparency will be required so that clients and firms alike know when AI was used. Some clients demand that firms stay away from GenAI on their engagements. Others express interest in the technology if it can provide better outcomes or reduce spend.
The pace of technological advancement has been tremendous, with new startups and a constant flow of new GenAI products to evaluate. The change has been tremendous, and the demands on staff to evaluate and keep pace have been overwhelming for many.
Last year, I suggested the Future Is Now when it comes to legal technology. As we move past the AI hype cycle in the coming years organizations will need to focus on return on investment and aligning staff to deliver results. Talent training and attracting the right talent that is “AI Ready” will become more important.
2025 will be an exciting year for the legal profession. Legal work must continue to be accurate and correct so the industry must continue to be deliberate in the adoption of technology.
The past five years represented significant change for legal professionals and there continues to be much speculation over disruption. As the hype dies down a bit, we will continue to see significant change and a steady evolution. Will that be true disruption? Let’s discuss in another five years!
Note: For each of the past six years the “Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyer Survey” has included insights from 700 lawyers in law firms and corporate legal departments across the U.S and Europe. The survey examines how client expectations, technology, and market trends are affecting the future of the legal profession and how legal organizations are prepared to address these challenges. For the latest report click here.
Ken Crutchfield is Vice President and General Manager of Legal Markets at Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S., a leading provider of information, business intelligence, regulatory and legal workflow solutions. Ken has more than three decades of experience as a leader in information and software solutions across industries. He can be reached at ken.crutchfield@wolterskluwer.com.
The post 6 Years Of Future Ready Lawyer Reports appeared first on Above the Law.
Last fall, Wolters Kluwer released the sixth annual installment of the Future Ready Lawyer report. Time has flown and the legal profession has moved just as quickly, if not faster. Consider the inaugural 2019 survey that asked 700 lawyers across the U.S. and Europe to “assess their current state and future priorities and preparedness to identify what it will take to be future ready.” It found that 69% of responding attorneys believed that understanding which technologies to deploy was important — which of course implies that 31% did not find it important. Additionally, no consensus was reported on which technologies would have an impact.
The 2019 survey also identified top challenges — addressing technology, dealing with increased complexity and volume of data, and managing changing client and leadership expectations — that less than 40% of respondents felt they were prepared to address by 2022. Additionally, fewer than 24% said they understood transformational technologies such as AI. And only 53% of lawyers indicated their organization’s technology investment would increase over a 3-year period that would end in 2022.
All of this tracks with the traditional perception of the legal profession as an industry that proceeds cautiously — and slowly — in the direction of new technologies. However, notable exceptions are present. Legal professionals were some of the first to adopt online full-text research. The legal industry was ahead of the curve in the use of word processing features and plug-ins. And e-discovery leveraged search, AI, and semantic processing well before the typical corporate IT department had those items on their radar.
The respondents of the 2019 Future Ready Lawyer report could not have anticipated the seismic global events on the horizon that would shape the direction of legal services. In 2020, lockdowns due to COVID-19 pushed an otherwise cautious and deliberate industry forward. Zoom and Teams calls became the norm as online meetings were essential to preserve communication with staff and clients who couldn’t meet physically. Online research spiked as attorneys who might have still reached for a printed publication were unable to access content in any other way but electronically. And digital signature platforms like DocuSign became cemented as the de facto way to complete and memorialize transactions.
The changes driven by the pandemic kept firms and law departments busy while the world prepared to change once again. On November 30, 2022, ChatGPT3.5 Turbo was released and promptly went viral. For the first time, managing partners at firms began to truly care about technology.
Case in point: The 2023 Future Ready Lawyer survey demonstrated a consensus among a wide majority of respondents (87%) that technology had improved their work, while 91% of lawyers surveyed felt that access to the latest tools and technology was important. One year, the 2024 Future Ready Lawyer report would show that 76% of law department attorneys and 68% of law firm attorneys use GenAI at least once per week — a frequency that suggests lawyers may be experimenting with GenAI technology on a personal level, that lawyers are actually using the technology, which is extremely important. Many well-intentioned technology projects die because of a lack of adoption.
Meanwhile, even as the number of new technology startups and GenAI products continues to multiply, AI governance remains an emerging topic. Firms and law departments will need to keep ensuring users are trained and informed in how to use GenAI technologies. They will need to understand the ethical use and have an awareness of AI bias. And transparency will be required so that clients and firms alike know when AI was used. Some clients demand that firms stay away from GenAI on their engagements. Others express interest in the technology if it can provide better outcomes or reduce spend.
The pace of technological advancement has been tremendous, with new startups and a constant flow of new GenAI products to evaluate. The change has been tremendous, and the demands on staff to evaluate and keep pace have been overwhelming for many.
Last year, I suggested the Future Is Now when it comes to legal technology. As we move past the AI hype cycle in the coming years organizations will need to focus on return on investment and aligning staff to deliver results. Talent training and attracting the right talent that is “AI Ready” will become more important.
2025 will be an exciting year for the legal profession. Legal work must continue to be accurate and correct so the industry must continue to be deliberate in the adoption of technology.
The past five years represented significant change for legal professionals and there continues to be much speculation over disruption. As the hype dies down a bit, we will continue to see significant change and a steady evolution. Will that be true disruption? Let’s discuss in another five years!
Note: For each of the past six years the “Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyer Survey” has included insights from 700 lawyers in law firms and corporate legal departments across the U.S and Europe. The survey examines how client expectations, technology, and market trends are affecting the future of the legal profession and how legal organizations are prepared to address these challenges. For the latest report click here.
Ken Crutchfield is Vice President and General Manager of Legal Markets at Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S., a leading provider of information, business intelligence, regulatory and legal workflow solutions. Ken has more than three decades of experience as a leader in information and software solutions across industries. He can be reached at [email protected].
