The future of legal work: options that emerge in a "new normalcy"

Lawyers have numerous alternatives to the traditional career. We explore some work options, outside the classic legal firm.

Luxury offices in skyscrapers, impeccable suits and endless hours of night work. The typical postcard of a lawyer's life, who could well get out of the series SuitsHe's running away. The telework, Artificial intelligence, new players in the industry and a client much more protagonist, are just some factors that are transforming the exercise of one of the oldest (and resistant to change) professions.

The renewal was imminent even before the pandemic. What the coronavirus did was speed up the clock and expose the need to adapt. The best news is that lawyers today have a wide range of work options, beyond working in a legal firm. They have the opportunity to be entrepreneurs in fields that are barely explored but, to achieve this and to stand out, they will need more than a title. The latter will be the starting point, as the "new normalcy" will require skills that, unfortunately, are not usually acquired in law school.

"Today, to stand out, a lawyer must complement his technical training with skills and skills that allow him to better understand business, adapt more flexibly to change and acquire techniques related to the effective management of projects," says Andrés Jara, CEO of the Alster.

Skiing off the track

In this new legal industry scenarioThe customers are the masters of the market. Before, legal signatures provided standard services that people hired. Now, it is the customers who post the needs and look for the right supplier to meet them. They demand more accessible, high-quality solutions and using as little resources as possible.

As a result, new players emerge: smaller legal studies, internal lawyers and non-traditional legal service providers (ALSP).

The ALSP, category where it is framed Alster, merge legal, business and technological capacities, to provide the services of a firm but at a lower cost, and with greater flexibility or speed.

On the other hand, technological solutions are being developed on demand: download sites and access to legal documents, online consultancies, subscriptions for phone or email advice, chatbots that respond to legal doubts, and more.

Automation certainly cuts work options, but also creates the need for new roles. The new tools legaltech require lawyers specializing in artificial intelligence, who know about their functioning and risks, and can act in their regulation to protect fundamental rights. A chatbot must be programmed by a law expert to provide the content.

The field of Cyberlaw also demands professionals prepared to answer new questions. Technology needs ethics and lawyers to guarantee personal rights in cybersociety. Data protection, compliance, digital intellectual property and cybercrime are some options to specialize.

At the business level, knowledge of business and project management, along with a good mastery of technology, they are key qualities. The best corporate lawyers will be those who operate as company advisors and business partners, anticipating problems and developing solutions beyond the legal field.

A lawyer can become a crisis manager, a legal process designer, a project manager, a supply chain expert, a data analyst or a risk manager, among others, lists expert Mark Cohen, in an article of Forbes.

The flexibility came to stay

In a post-pandemic "new normalcy" scenario, the offices may not be what they were again. Many lawyers understood that productivity is not measured by the amount of hours in the office. Telework has led to a rethinking of what efficiency means and how to achieve it.

"The current crisis is changing the way our task is carried out and how the result is delivered. Remote work, coupled with social distancing, generates a growing need for technology and change in the methods of leadership, self-management, time management and, finally, productivity," Jara describes.

 The precious flexibility that is in everyone's mouth today was already, before the Covit-19, a demand of the new generations that were entering the labour market. In response, the result of years of research to understand the needs of current legal teams, Alster Legal created the product Flexible Legal Talent® (FLT ®).

"The global trend associated with job flexibility, remote work and technology as a tool for proper performance has been a reality for more than a decade, but it was not reflected in the Latin American legal environment," says Jara.

FLT ® is the first network of independent lawyers for companies and legal areas, who have the skills and skills to adapt to the work environment where they are inserted. "It is a service in flexible format, fast induction and low transaction cost," the CEO of Alster.

It's not all technology.

Yes, lawyers are and will be increasingly digital. The automation, telework and new technologies They impact their task. But this does not mean that technological knowledge is the only thing that will highlight the professionals of the future.

Today's society demands greater closeness, something that is achieved, above all, by communication. In this context, there is a tendency to use clear language both written and verbal.

In essence, the focus must be on people, customers, who come to the justice services to guard or defend their rights. Technology will be able to supply lawyers with mechanical and repetitive tasks, but their holistic approach, advice and interpersonal, communicative and leadership skills will remain as important or more important as they are today.

Alsteris constantly building a community of lawyers determined to exercise the right in an innovative way. If you want to be part of it you can run through this link.

Communications | Alster