An insight into the skill-set needed by future lawyers by Savvas Skordellis
“The future lawyers will need to be hybrid professionals who not only know the law but also have skills in project management, outsourcing, practice management, and technology”.
With that being said, law students and future lawyers do not need to have an in-depth knowledge of every technology application, but an important skill is the ability to think critically about the use of technology and how it will impact clients’ relationships. The rise of legal operations means that in order law firms, lawyers and law students to be successful they should understand basic legal technology concepts and softwares so they can be prepared to effectively represent their client, discuss potential issues and be able to assess when and whether they should to engage a subject matter to an expert.
Law school and online courses are a great opportunity to refine your skills and gain some new ones. Here are the skills for tomorrow’s lawyers.
1. Basic IT skills
Today, technology is fundamentally changing how lawyers practise law and conduct research. Law students and future lawyers should/would be able to demonstrate proficiency in common office softwares such as Office 365, Google Drive, Practice Management Systems and legal databases. University is a great opportunity to understand, engage and test these types; using legal technology tools and becoming familiar with them will be a critical component of their future career. Collaboration with peers, future colleagues and knowing how to use those platforms is therefore critical for success. This is not just about working well in a team; this is about the ability to function in cross-border, multi-border matters as well as working with non-lawyers. Adapting to changes affects the way law firms as well as in-house legal departments work with other providers therefore, everyone has something to gain.
2. Financial and budgeting literacy
Teaching law students how to set a legal budget, how to account for and deal with contingencies, setting reserves and how to track spending, is as critical as being able to read and understand financial statements. Why does it matters? It matters because it teaches law students how to identify spending trends, potential cost savings and efficiency opportunities which will subsequently help them build their business acumen and enable them to “operate like a business” and understand their clients’ business goals. Bear in mind that a law firm is a business and the business wants to make profits, therefore, effective financial management is an essential competency.
3. Blockchain
In a nutshell, blockchain technology offers a decentralised consensus mechanism using servers that facilitate peer-to-peer transactions without the need for a centralised authority to maintain the information generated by the transactions. Smart contracts is an area in which blockchain technology can be used. In simpler terms, a smart contract is a computer code that can automatically monitor, execute and enforce a legal agreement and it promotes transparency, security and efficiency. A smart contract can also be considered as proof of the conclusion of a legal agreement. “A lawyer who can code smart contracts will be indispensable in the nearest future”.
4. Project Management
Briefly, project management is the application of knowledge, skills and techniques to execute projects effectively and efficiently. Being able to lead and manage a change initiative for the legal department or as part of a team are significant responsibilities for lawyers. Project managers are now common among legal service providers. They play a big part of “progressive” law firms as well as “alternative providers”. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has also recognised the importance of project management skills for lawyers and now requires solicitors to demonstrate competence in core project management principles. Therefore, law students should be given the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of project management and other related skills.
5. Data Analysis
Data analysis is the gathering, inspection and modelling of data in order to gain an insight into how real-world processes work, make predictions and take decisions. The importance of data analysis in law firms is incomparable. This is a vital tool to provide a guidance to the business and help to not miss out opportunities to improve the client experience, mitigate risk, and maximise profits. “Law firms that do not collect and analyse the right data will leave a great deal on the table”. Therefore, data analysis is an opportunity for lawyer to predict, analyse and give more precise insight how long a case might last. When law students improve their Microsoft Excel skills will become more confident and competent with working with data.
6. Coding (bonus)
Logic and reasoning are essential parts of surviving law school. Similarly, these skills are also needed in the coding process, indeed. Not every law student needs to know how to code of course. Nevertheless, knowing at least the basic, is a promising path to follow in this increasingly competitive legal market. However, it is worth mentioning that this area is debatable and there are respectable arguments for and against lawyers learning to code. On one hand, if you want to be a lawyer who understands technology then it is just fine to understand core technology concepts, components, concerns and complementary concepts instead of getting deep into coding. On the other hand, if you are a lawyer who focus your practice in the area of science and technology law then coding is the way to go.
There you have it!
5 + 1 skills that law students and future lawyers must possess if they want to transform legal industry. These skills will enable you to collaborate efficiently and effectively within this ever-expanding legal/digital world. As a rule of thumb, law firms will expect their employees to have basic tech skills, but in today’s fast-moving legal industry is vital to keeping up to date with how technology is changing legal practice. To sum up, law schools need to teach those skills, governing bodies need to test them and law firms need to help their lawyers improve them.
Written by Savvas Skordellis and edited by Stephanos ChristodoulouThank you. Make sure to follow our social media accounts.
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