Presenters: Simon Gardiner and Jenni Taylor
The legal profession, like any other, is having to change and adapting to the digital age. Traditional law firms are not immune from competition – boutique suppliers and online services already disrupt the business model. Survival depends not just on being good at law but on being a cost-efficient and scalable business, and in a competitive world firms value business acuity as well as professional skill in members of the team.
New technologies can enable efficiencies through templated tools which – for example – can guide support staff through the routine information gathering and reporting stages required in probate or conveyancing. Linked to online customer relationship management systems, the tools used for one transaction can help to retain the customer for other business based on a profile analysis. Dispersed firms can mix and match resources to accommodate shifts in demand using improved connectivity. But are these potential benefits being realised – and are firms able to find adequately trained staff?
In order to evidence its approach to curriculum design, the Law School at Leeds Beckett University has undertaken a market survey to obtain a snapshot of the attitudes and experiences in local law firms relating to challenges and opportunities posed by new technology, the business environment, and the acquisition and retention of both staff and customers. Our paper will highlight the key issues exposed, and make recommendations for how these could be used to influence curricula towards the needs of business in this sector.
