The future of the legal profession

With the Australian class action law firm going public, and non-lawyers being allowed to invest in law firms, one must wonder what the future of the legal profession portends.

One vision of the future is that of increasing segmentation, following the traditional principles of business marketing 101. How to differentiate one firm as contrasted to others will be the mantra of the future.

Or, as said elsewhere, “… polarization between those firms providing low-cost bulk services and the high-margin players at the upper echelons of the top 100…” will become more pronounced.

Law firms will be compelled to review their business models; or, perhaps better said, law firms will have to discover and create business models in order to be competitive. This will include reviewing their pricing structures, efficiencies and standardization in the delivery of legal services.

And, perhaps most of all, it will include understanding who their market is (volume, commodity-based vs high margin-bet the company or some middle ground) and how to best serve that market.

These are issues that no longer can be put off into the future. The future is here.

Categorized in: Management