Thursday, June 24, 2021

In the end, it's always about money

Wolters Kluwer's Future Ready Lawyer Study 2021 was eagerly awaited, as it provides an opportunity to track changes due to the pandemic. There is one aspect in particular that I would like to address here: the growing willingness of legal departments to change.

A quarter of in-house counsel surveyed said they were looking to change law firm(s). The figure has doubled since the previous year. A key reason is the lack of use of technology in law firms. That's worth a closer look.

One would like to think that a client could care less how the lawyer handles his mandate, as long as the time, quality and price are right. To paraphrase Bertram Burtscher (Freshfields): Whether hordes of "ants" (a term used by me) are involved in due diligence or AI-supported software - who cares, as long as the result is right. 

But that is obviously no longer true. Apparently, the awareness is spreading among in-house counsel that the use of technology in law firms can lead to better quality results. Presumably, however, it's not about the technology per se, but about the transparency of the processes for the client. Or thinking one step further: in the end, it's about the best possible quality and - surprise! - it's about money.


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