The 2020 Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyer Survey: Performance Drivers examines future readiness and resilience in the legal sector with insights from 700 legal professionals across the U.S. and Europe.
Disruption caused by the global pandemic will have far-reaching, long-term and structural impact across the legal industry. Amid changes to come, there will also be continuity, and even acceleration, in ongoing legal sector transformation.
The survey examined trends affecting the future of law as the industry overall undergoes a significant transformation, and how well-prepared legal organizations are to deliver higher performance.
The 2020 Future Ready Lawyer Survey report covers five areas related to the future ready lawyer and performance drivers:
• Top Trends and Readiness Across the Legal Profession
• Driving Successful Client-Firm Relationships
• The Changing Legal Department
• The Changing Law Firm
• Focus on Technology Investments and Advantages
Based on the survey findings, there are gaps to fill and there is progress to be made.
Key Findings
A significant gap exists between trends and readiness to address them. Fewer than one-third of lawyers are very prepared to keep pace with changes in the legal market.
While 76% of legal pros say the Increasing Importance of Legal Technology will be the top trend to impact their organizations over the next three years…only 28% are ready.
Technology is becoming more critical to how well firms meet client expectations.
By 2022, 81% of corporate legal departments will require prospective law firms to describe their technology use to be more productive and efficient – nearly double the rate of 41% asking this today.
Technology leading firms are more profitable.
62% of Tech Leaders report their profitability increased over prior year, compared to 39% for Transitioning and 17% for Trailing firms.
Insights from Luminaries: Impact of COVID-19 on the Legal Sector
The Future Ready Lawyer Survey report also addresses the immediate and potential long-term impacts of the coronavirus global pandemic. Legal sector luminaries from Europe and the U.S. share their insights:
“The organizations that already leveraged technology were the ones that were best prepared to meet this crisis head on and continue to serve their clients with a minimum of disruption.”
Bob Ambrogi
“The strategic goals and the need to optimize their delivery of legal services do not change due to the crisis. Everything just happens much faster.”
Markus Hartung
“Organizations need to be well organized and have planned for these types of events in advance.”
Dean Sonderegger
“The time for ‘Innovation by Press Release’ for law firms is over; it is ‘Do or Die’.”
Jeroen Zweers
About the Survey and Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory
The 2020 Future Ready Lawyer Survey: Performance Drivers 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 across core areas and how legal organizations are prepared to address these. The survey was conducted online for Wolters Kluwer by a leading international research organization from January 10 to 30, 2020.
Wolters 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.
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