What will 2021 bring for NewLaw?
After a year that has been unanimously labelled as 'unprecedented', is it still possible to predict what the future may hold? Based on their observations and knowledge as to how NewLaw has developed in recent months, our Ashurst Advance leadership team give us their predictions on what lies ahead for the legal industry in 2021 and beyond.
One thing is hopefully for certain; that 2021 will be more predictable than 2020! I expect we will see iterative rather than radical changes in legal function priorities, with a continued focus on improving efficiency and the essential supporting technology as budgets for more widespread technology investment will remain limited. The post-Covid world will test remote working "new normal" plans – will we see the anticipated shift towards permanent flexible working arrangements? Almost certainly, as the economic benefits of reduced premium square footage will be irresistible. Will we see a shift from London towards fully remote specialist lawyers? This is unlikely until there is a sufficient pool of specialists who have relocated to far-flung homes, and whilst there are already signs of this, many are clamouring instead for a return to city office life!
Chris Georgiou, Partner, Head of Ashurst Advance
2021 will be a year where we will see a degree of tension between a desire from the conservative elements of the legal services market to go back to the comfort blanket of the way it used to be, and those who wish to embrace and adopt all the positive changes which have come out of our new ways of working. I am confident the voices of the future will prevail. Indeed, there may be a point in the future where, despite all the challenges and bad news, the year 2020 is seen as a long term accelerator of change!
Mike Polson, Partner, Head of Ashurst Advance Delivery
The urgent response to the pandemic has resulted in a number of important issues being put on the backburner. However, these issues have not gone away, and 2021 will see a sharp refocus on matters such as trade, justice, the environment and governance through both a regulatory and social lens.
Nathan Bellgrove, Head of Ashurst Advance Delivery APAC
2021 is likely to see a strong resurgence in our client's 'more for less' challenge that puts our Ashurst Advance offering firmly into focus and even more relevant so that clients can be confident that we deliver our legal services efficiently and effectively. Clients will be looking to transform their own legal operating models to drive value for the business and at the heart of that will be process analysis and design, followed by the effective implementation of change. I think we will see the speed of change within in-house legal significantly increase in response to the economic implications of the pandemic and the need to be more agile and streamlined.Kate Bassett, Head of Legal Project Management and Process Improvement
Legal technology has evolved as a series of point solutions that solve specific problems well but work best in isolation. We are at the beginning of the great convergence, where vendors, law firms and clients collaborate together to create end to end solutions to solve much larger and complex challenges.Tae Royle, Head of Digital Products APAC
2020 has required resilience and a strong sense of purpose, but I am optimistic that 2021 will build on the digital acceleration we have seen from our tech enabled and curious lawyers, who have been inspired as to what tech can do for them and their clients. The industry is still a way off having innovative delivery, data and tech built into all service offerings as standard, however we have a growing and enthusiastic base to build on and we can't stop now! I profoundly hope that 2020 has supercharged the curiosity which is needed to fast track the journey to transforming the legal industry to encompass - watch this space…!Rachel Barnes, Head of Collaborations
New data sources are becoming more prevalent. The pandemic has driven an exponential increase in the use of alternative methods of communication, such as video conferencing and collaboration and chat technology. Will these new data sources form part of discovery orders in 2021? What are the implications on how this data is collected, reviewed and produced?
Phil Smith, Co-Head of eDiscovery Services
In 2021, we will see dispersed teams become the norm with people having adjusted during the pandemic to both supervising and working as part of remote teams to deliver the same high quality outputs as they did when physically in the office. This will mean more willingness by law firms and general counsel to embrace alternative resourcing as a means of building integrated teams consisting of in-house resources, flexible lawyers, their panel firms and LPOs wherever the constituent parts of those teams are physically located. People will no longer be constrained by the geography of their local markets and can better leverage talent pools, time zones and cost.Iain Brown, Head of Alternative Resourcing
In the eDiscovery space I expect that 2021 will see two current trends gain further momentum. In the UK the anticipated end of the furlough scheme in March is likely to further accelerate the use of Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs). Clients that are on the receiving end of multiple such requests will look to law firms to be increasingly creative in how they tackle such small value, high frequency review tasks. At the other end of the review spectrum I anticipate that large matters, particularly if they have an international element, will drive an increased demand for global collaboration on disclosure reviews.Mark Simmons, Co-Head of eDiscovery Services
If you would like to speak to the Ashurst Advance team about our NewLaw offering and how we can help our clients find innovative and cost-effective solutions to their legal challenges, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
