Back To The Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture - The issues facing your firm and how culture change is the solution - Obelisk Support
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Back To The Future:
Reshaping law Firm Culture
The issues facing your firm and how culture
change is the solution
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 1
Table of Contents
Foreword 3
Introduction 5
What are the Issues?
I. Millennials Are Shaping the Future of Work 7
II. A Talent Crisis 8
III. Robots and Lagging Legal Tech 8
IV. Inflexible Work 9
V. The Big Four 10
VI. Women in Law, Cont’d 10
The Pillars of the Future Firm Culture 11
I. Flexible Work Spaces 12
II. The Lawyer-Preneur 15
III. Smart Legal Tech 18
IV. Mind (Re)Set 21
What’s Next? 25
References 27
Abstract
We examine the business benefits for why UK law firms should significantly
invest in changing their culture in order to improve talent retention, ensure long-
term growth, and become future-proof. We will identify key issues facing firms
today and explore the pillars of future firm culture, as part of our new efforts to
work with firms.
methodology
This paper reviews current reports, surveys and various off-line and on-line
literature on the future of work both in the UK and globally. As well as looking at
the legal industry specifically, we draw on best practices from leaders across
many industries in order to synthesize and present a comprehensive
perspective on the current and future state of legal work.
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 2
Foreword
Cherie Blair CBE
Human Rights Barrister, Lecturer and Writer
My adult life has been defined by several roles, each with its
unique challenges and rewards. I have been a barrister and QC
and established a thriving chambers and law firm; I am the
founder of a charity and sit on the board of several others; I have
been married to a Prime Minister, lived in number 10 Downing
Street and dealt with all that this entailed. But, of course, the
most important, rewarding and challenging role that I have been
blessed with, is that of being a mother to my four children.
Throughout, I have been fortunate to be able to continue my
work and balance my professional and home life thanks, in no
small part, to a strong support system and a tolerant family. I am
not saying that it wasn’t hard; the mythical ‘work-life balance’ is
incredibly difficult to find and its fragility makes it even easier to
lose. Like many women, I have faced criticism for being a
working mother from colleagues, employers, the press and, even
from other mothers. Whilst there have been numerous
developments in the legal profession since I was first admitted to
the Bar, the obstacles facing working mothers sadly remain
much the same and this, I believe, prevents too many women
from reaching their full potential. Fortunately, there are glimmers
of hope in the form of those forward-thinking organisations that
are revolutionising the legal world, levelling the playing field and
enabling us all to thrive.
Many of the larger law firms still use centuries-old business and
organisational models that are just not relevant in today’s world,
upholding barriers to true gender equality and work-life balance
through rigid and archaic traditions that place the emphasis on
face time, rather than quality of work. Such practices leave
mothers (and fathers) unable to enjoy parenthood at the same
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 3
Foreword
time as effectively fulfilling their commitments as lawyers. But for
women, the barriers don’t stop there. Younger women also face
the assumption from current or potential employers that they are
‘bound to get pregnant sooner or later’, as if this is a negative
thing and their work life will be over! And, of course, there’s the
dreaded Pay Gap, which, quite frankly, I cannot believe we still
have to talk about in the 21st century...
The research presented in this paper is both valuable and long-
overdue. This succinct, accurate and insightful study focusses on
the desperate need for a cultural shift in the Law. A fostering of
new norms, priorities and practices is critical if we are to diversify
the workforce and enable those who do not fit the ‘lawyer’
stereotype to succeed. We must transform the rigid way that law
firms often operate to make space for fresh mindsets, different
working styles and original ideas. We must embrace the
contribution that the younger generation, people from all classes
and walks of life, individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds,
and, of course, women and mothers can bring.
Making these changes will benefit everyone. Why would we risk
missing out on the next great legal mind simply because the need
to collect a child from school means someone cannot work the
excessive hours traditionally expected by law firms? Should our
colour, class or gender prevent us from being great lawyers or
great parents? Should a woman be excluded from reaching
partner simply because she took maternity leave?
Something has to change in order to enable women who want to
be excellent lawyers as well as parents, and to work how, where
and when they can, in order to get the best results at work and at
home. The work done by Dana Denis-Smith and Obelisk
Support is an important step in helping us to understand and
achieve these desperately needed changes. As a profession, we
simply cannot afford to waste a single talented and dedicated
person, let alone an entire gender!
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 4
introduction
The future of legal work is changing, and along level of fee income growth in 2018, profit
with it, how work will get done. The role of firm margin erosion has continued as many firms
culture will be more significant than ever struggle to contain staffing costs. Indeed,
before, driven by a new generation of solicitors nearly 30% of firms reported a decrease in
that will be the most demanding one yet, profits in 2018, on top of 48% from the previous
expecting diversity on all fronts – of people, year. This, coupled with Top 100 firms
workspace, technology and wellness. predicting a decrease of 0.1% in fee income for
the 2019-2020 period, provides a grim future
The legal industry continues to experience outlook.1
seismic changes as pressure mounts on all
sides: the plethora of new technologies; the While it may be too soon to herald the death of
expansion of multidisciplinary practices, such the traditional law firm model, what is clear is
as PwC and Deloitte (the Big Four); the that it is time for a change.
emergence of US firms into the UK market; and
the growing disruption of legal change-makers We have reached a critical moment. And
offering fresh solutions to legal work. fundamental action is needed to future-proof
the shape and operation of the firm.
These trends are not without impact. Although
nearly 90% of Top 100 UK firms achieved some
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 5
“They always say
time changes things,
but you have to
actually change
them yourself.”
- Andy Warhol
Photo courtesy of Pawel Czerwinski
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 6
What are the Issues?
Millennials Are People: Millennials expect the
diversity of their colleagues to
Shaping the reflect that of their personal social
spheres, going beyond the basics
Future of Work of demographic diversity in search
of a cultural richness of thoughts
It’s time to wake up and smell the and attitudes.
vegan gluten-free matcha latte:
Millennials are the future Upskilling: Millennials are focused
workforce. Defined as a cohort on upskilling and learning on the
born between 1981-1996, job. They understand that it is
Millennials currently make up 400 necessary in order to keep up with
million of the worldwide the speed at which industry is
population,2 surpassing Boomers changing.
as the largest demographic of the
UK legal profession.3 Space: Millennials are used to
working in Starbucks and want
their workspace to have the same
flavour. Meaning, they prefer a
less formal work environment, lots
“It’s no longer a case of of tech, and some fun perks.
employees adjusting to
their work; it’s about the Collaboration: Millennials prefer
collaborative working structures.
work adjusting to them.”
They need their huddle spaces to
Padraig Cotter be able to share content, co-create
The Irish Times 4 and communicate with remote
participants.
Technology: Millennials are digital
Despite being routinely teased for natives. They grew up while
everything from being considered today’s technology was already
lazy, overtly PC or allegedly being happening and expect their
very fond of avocado toast, there workplace technology to be as
is no denying that ‘Millennial Think’ entertaining and easy to use as
has infiltrated all aspects of work those they use every day in their
culture: personal lives.
Demographic of the UK Legal Profession
Percentage Breakdown by Age
25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
32% 29% 22% 13% 4%
SRA 2017 3
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 7
What are the Issues?
A Talent Crisis In-House. Lawyers
increasingly abandoning private
are
practice and the long haul to the
In this crowded and competitive Holy Grail of partnership,
market space, firms face a tough preferring to work in-house where
job recruiting the right candidates the environment is more business-
from the industry’s pool of elite like, tech-savvy, and conducive to
professionals. After Brexit, the a better work-life balance. Today,
biggest fear of firms for future 20% of lawyers now work in-
growth is a shortage of talent.1 house, a number that has more
than doubled over the last 15
Personnel turnover in law firms, years.3
especially with young lawyers, is
at its highest level ever – a trend With salaries for in-house
that costs Top 400 global law solicitors now comparable to their
firms roughly £6.8bn annually.5 private counterparts, going in-
house offers greater work
Burn Out. It’s no secret that in law, flexibility and efficiencies such as
long hours are worn as badges of lowered-to-no constraints on
honour, and they have been for billable hours, faster routes to
decades. Today, with the rise of promotion, and more diversity and Robots & Lagging
technology, the idea of ‘work all
the time or you fail’ has become
inclusion among colleagues.
Legal Tech
the norm.
After talent retention, the third and
Burnout is on the rise: 23% of law fourth biggest threats to growth
firms believe it’s increasing,6 with perceived by Top 100 law firms
96% of solicitors reporting that Annual Cost of are cyber threats (82%) and
they experience negative stress,
and 19% saying that stress is
Mental Illness technological
(63%).1
advancements
‘extreme’ causing mistakes or to UK Firms: 9
burnout.7 As a result, lawyers are A growing number of law firms,
increasingly exiting the industry
altogether to pursue other options
such as helicopter skiing or scuba-
£33-42 Bn both large and small, are putting
AI systems to use,11 with some
48% of UK firms having
diving.3 implemented some form of AI
technology, and 41% with the
intention to do so in the near
Entrepreneurialism. Why are future.12 Although AI technology
lawyers going in-house? adoption is happening, it’s doing
According to KPMG’s 2018 Global so at a slow pace, as many firms
CEO Outlook, ‘agility is the new are holding out until its cost
currency of business’ and small advantages over outsourcing
businesses have this in spades.9 improve.13
With 99.3% of all private sector But time may be running out. The
firms in the UK being SMEs, it’s no bombshell report by the World
wonder that the entrepreneur Economic Forum that went viral in
mentality is taking over. 2018, predicted that machines will
‘Employees in small businesses do 42% of all labour by 2022, and
can make decisions at a different more than half of it by 2025,14
pace and as a result, larger should be somewhat concerning
companies are trying to mimic even for the biggest AI sceptics.
this,’ says Snorre Kjesbu, VP Team This means that massive
Collaboration Devices, Cisco.10 economic change is afoot, and it’s
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 8
What are the Issues?
about to get personal. People are
actively building machines to
replace human work, all in the
name of cost-savings and
increasing efficiencies.
Ultimately, there will be a shift
away from automated “lower level”
tasks towards soft “higher level”
work. The report adds, “skills, such
as creativity, originality and
initiative, critical thinking,
persuasion and negotiation will
retain or increase their value, as
will attention to detail, resilience,
flexibility and complex problem-
solving.” 10
Inflexible Work
Companies that offer flexible work flexible work options before
“By 2022, 54% of are known to have increased joining a new company.16
employees will require employee retention, more
motivated and engaged staff, and But what does this ‘working
significant upskilling.”
access to wider talent pools when flexibly to some degree’ actually
Forbes 14 recruiting.10 However, according to look like? A handful of firms are
a recent report by Hydrogen Group currently offering agile working
‘UK Sector Snapshot: Legal,’ there options, such as, work from home
are still some gaps that need to be for one day per week, hot-desking,
Of those firms using tech, bridged.16 and working remotely on an ad-
Millennials are not happy with how hoc basis.17
it is being implemented. There is a The report found that only 52% of
perceived gap between consumer firm solicitors were working However, firms’ approaches to
and business tech, with the latter flexibly to some degree, compared this are restrictive. Many cap their
failing to match the former in to 63% of in-house lawyers, and flexible working policies to
terms of ease-of-use and 66% of UK professionals. working from home one or two
entertainment value.10 Millennials Furthermore, nearly 60% of firms days a week, and rather than
are also far more likely than Baby do not make it standard practice allowing employees the freedom
Boomers to say that they feel like to offer information about flexible to choose how, when, and where
their company requires them to work, while 81% of lawyers said they work, the majority are being
use too many technology tools.15 that they would actively look for granted a piecemeal offering.18
Lawyers Are Working Flexibly to Some Degree
34% I work remotely at least once a week.
64% I want to work remotely at least once a week.
21% I have flexible start / finish times.
64% I want flexible start / finish times.
31% I always work at my employer’s place of work.
11% I want to always work at my employer’s place of work.
Hydrogen Group 2016 Report 16
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 9
What are the Issues?
The Big Four C-Suite: Thanks to deeper
relationships, and an ability to gain
Yet despite the advances at the
junior level, female representation
legal business via access to the at the partner level has been
With a deep understanding of entire corporate C-suite, the Big sluggish. Over the last five years,
process optimisation, a firm Four are institutionally advantaged it's the Top 51-100 firms that have
commitment to technology, and in business development.19 made some headway, with 24%
broad expertise, the Big Four reaching partnership. The Top 50,
(Deloitte, E&Y, KPMG, PwC) are Larger Resources: Players like the however, are trailing behind at
certainly well equipped to meet Big Four have the resources, under 20%.1
the needs of the future legal financial power and motivation to
department. be agents of change. They also In short, there are plenty of
have the size and worldwide women lawyers, but they’re just
In reality, are four accounting presence to make an impact, and not reaching the top.
firms set to become the biggest most importantly, they have the
disruptors in law? Well, yes. money to invest and acquire.20 More shockingly, a recent report
into the future of legal practice by
Innovation: Clients want a holistic, BPP University Law School
business-solution approach to determined that it will take until
legal problems. Decades of audit 2037 for women to achieve parity
price pressure have taught the Big Women in Law with men at a senior partnership
Four how to deliver, and invest in level.23
technology and innovative While gender equality continues to
processes that disrupt and deliver be championed at board level, Then there’s the notorious gender
on business objectives.19 progress remains slow. pay gap. In the latest survey of
Top 25 UK firms, the average
Pricing: The Big Four are driving a In a recent report, for the first time gender pay gap came in at 20%.
fundamental shift in the pricing in history the number of working Not so bad, given that most banks
model. By providing packages female solicitors in England and published gaps in excess of 40%.
that bunch together a number of Wales exceeded that of men, at However, only nine firms included
services for a cut cost, they forego 50.1%, reflecting the decades-long partner earnings in their published
dwelling on the P&L in the spirit of Influx of junior women to the numbers – of these, the gap rose
better servicing the client.20 profession.22 to almost 60%.24
2018 Gender Pay Gap
60%
Among uk firms that included
Partner earnings ons.gov.uk 25
9%
Bloomberg.com 24
Among uk workers
In general
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 10The pillars of the
future firm culture
The existing discourse on employee When trying to benchmark the future of work
satisfaction at law firms in the UK primarily for UK law firms, it’s time to look beyond the
centres around hours spent at the office measurable industry numbers, and instead
relative to salary. A recent survey of 2,000 focus on closing the employee happiness gap:
trainees by Legal Cheek revealed that the total what is offered to them; and what is being
hours spent working broadly correlated with a offered outside of the UK legal industry.
firm’s score of work-life balance – and its
remuneration.27 A win for the juniors.
But good pay and benefits just aren’t enough.
In a survey by the Association of Legal “The balance is good, for
Administrators, staff turnover in 2017
increased by 28% from 2016 – despite base
a law firm. But that isn’t
salaries that rose by an average of nearly 9%, really the appropriate
despite bonuses that jumped by 30%, and
despite significantly improved benefits.28
comparator.”
Summarised best by one junior lawyer: ‘The A Junior Lawyer 29
balance is good, for a law firm. But that isn’t
really the appropriate comparator.’ 29
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 11The Pillars of the Future Firm Culture
This non-fixed mindset means
integrating new tech with:
AirBnB, San Francisco 1. Agile work solutions that go
outside of the office
2. Dynamic office spaces that
encourage collaboration
3. Office tech tools that are as
fun, as they are
fundamental to getting
Photo courtesy of Emily Hagopian work done
Pillar #1: Flexible 1. Out Of Office
Work Spaces Flexible working removes location
from the work equation. It puts an
end to the idea that work is where
“There are four
The future of work is about what
we do, not where. you do it. It’s time to get out of
the office.
generations
Flexible working embraces both working together in
If a staggering 83% of workers
the physical and digital workspace
would consider leaving a firm if it
the workplace. The
by empowering people to work
where, when and how they didn’t offer work-from-home10, need for the work
choose, with the main goal of then firms need to wake up and
start considering all out-of-office
settings to be
maximising their productivity at
the firm. But flexible working is work options, like job shares, flexible enough for
more than just a way of working: homeworking, part-time roles, co- all of the different
it’s a business model or working and annualised hours.
philosophy, and when done Then decide what’s the best fit for requirements was
properly, it can reap some their business – and the solicitor. our design focus.”
formidable rewards. Debbie Baxter,
The biggest trend in this aspect is
co-working. WeWork is less than
VP Corporate Real Estate,
Beyond just offering hot-desking Deloitte Canada.37
or a laptop to work from a client’s a decade old and yet has
office, flexible working puts the emerged as the world leader in
focus on where it counts: serving co-working, ranked as the third
clients’ needs. By encouraging most valuable startup in the US
teams to work collectively, rather after Uber and Airbnb.31 The
than looking at the old barometers secret to this success? Creating
such as face-time, it promotes the environments that are conducive
delivery of improved results. to productivity, innovation and
creativity... with the right lighting,
the right snacks, and, crucially, Deloitte, Toronto
the right people.
“Flexibility should be the Those who have already
default position; in other integrated agile working into their
operations have enjoyed boosted
words, the manager has productivity, increased staff
to argue why the loyalty, and reduced absenteeism.
employee cannot have it. Perhaps most significantly, by
It’s about not having a projecting an image of an
fixed mindset.” 10 employer with family-friendly
flexible work schedules, it
improves the ability to recruit top Photo courtesy of James Brittain
talent.31
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 12The Pillars of the Future Firm Culture
O'Melveny &
Myers
Menlo Park, California
Here’s a law firm with an
impressive list of accolades.
Voted as the ‘Best Law Firm
To Work For’ for the past two
years by more than 18,000
US solicitors on Vault, and
‘Best Law Firm for Women’
by Working Mother and Flex-
Time Lawyers, California-
based O'Melveny & Myers is
topping leaderboards left,
right and centre.32
Why? Remote-work, flex-time
Courtesy of Google Zurich
solutions, reduced hours and
job sharing are all offerings of
the firm’s CustOMMize
programme, while Bridges
allows staff to take a two-
year sabbatical to explore 2. Dynamic Spaces
other interests while still
remaining an O’Melveny For those who still need to go into are spaces that were conceived to
lawyer. the office, it’s time to rethink inspire creativity, promote
spaces and how they’re used. collaboration, and attract the best
As one associate stated, global talent. They have funky
‘O’Melveny truly is not a ‘face- From quiet contemplation, to meeting rooms, an open kitchen,
time’ firm, and I love it. No collaborative teamwork, to slides and contemporary art,
one tracks where you are, or creative idea-building, in one day which are all small in design, but
cares when you are in the alone, an employee could go huge in driving the popularity of
office, as long as you get your through multiple working styles. these Millennial meccas.
work done.’ 32 And Activity-Based-Working (ABW)
is a dynamic way to think about With average talent retention as
how this work gets done. high as three years at Google, five
years at Apple, and seven years at
First coined in the book, The Art of Cisco,34 certainly some of this can
Working by Erik Veldhoen – a be attributed to their work
Dutch consultant, ABW was environments.
initially piloted by Dutch insurance
giant Interpolis in the nineties.34 A fine example is Google which
The idea is that if a suitable has claimed the top spot on
workspace is chosen according to Glassdoor's annual list of the ‘50
the task that needs doing, it leads Best Places to Work’, as well as
to an improved outcome. So Fortune magazine's annual list of
essentially for ABW to work, firms ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’,
need to create dynamic office for multiple years. Though
spaces. generous employee perks,
opportunities for career growth,
And leading the way in creative, and innovative culture do also play
Photo courtesy of bcci builders
forward-thinking office design are a key role.36
today’s technology giants. These
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 13The Pillars of the Future Firm Culture
3. Office Tech Makeover A shopping list of flexible
workspace tech tools will need to
Out of office work, ABW and include virtual reality meeting
other flex work solutions – rooms, instant messaging
none of them would be possible (favoured by 62% of UK workers
15), digital whiteboarding, live
without the integration of smart
technology. content-sharing, audio technology
that blocks out sounds (say, of a
In fact, collaboration technology dog barking), and smart AI tools Photo courtesy of James Brittain
is becoming as important as that offer contextual information
flexible work spaces. Estimated for meeting attendees.
by Frost & Sullivan to be 30 Deloitte Head Office
million huddle spaces globally, Toronto, Canada
the growth rate is expected to
be in the double digits.3 When Deloitte decided to
renovate their Toronto office in
However, the key to Workers use apps such 2017, their ideas were so
incorporating new business as Skype and WhatsApp future-facing, many top design
tech successfully is ensuring it on a daily basis in their firms were left scratching their
matches the richness and ease- heads. But after several
personal lives. Digital
of-use of today’s consumer rounds of pitches, the final
connectivity is how we
tech. Millennials want their design was awarded to an
all live, so it should also
workplace apps to satisfy them Australian firm, Arney Fender
be how we all work. Katsalidis.
as much as their personal apps Offering smart office
do, inspiring them to think
tech tools that are part And this was a mammoth
innovatively and work smart.
of agile working should undertaking involving the
‘The question about work tech
no longer be seen as a smooth movement of 5,000
shouldn’t just be, “Will it work?”
Rather, we should ask “How will
perk, but rather a employees from six different
my team feel when using this?”’ fundamental to how offices into one shiny new 16-
says Alex Shootman, CEO at work gets done. floor flexible workspace;
Workfront.15 replete with modular wall
systems, mobile power
supplies, collaborative areas, a
Starbucks, wellness centre, a
full concierge service and
100% unassigned seating (not
even the CEO has a private
office).37
35%
Work
stations
65%
Collaborative
space
25% Real estate
savings
cost
Configurations of work
settings available 18
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 14The Pillars of the Future Firm Culture
Pillar #2: The 1. Upskilling & Retraining How are companies investing in
their L&D?
Lawyer-Preneur A lot of resources are currently
Leadership Skills: Regardless of
invested in the training of new
industry, leadership development
Lawyers have always been recruits, with firms offering a
is the most popular area of
entrepreneurial. But with the trend variety of initiatives such as
employee upskilling, and was
of solicitors moving in-house, and mentorships, special interest
reported as the top priority of 25%
with the growing pressure of law classes, and financial support for
of companies surveyed in the
firms to compete with SME’s, the LLMs and MBAs. But, when it
Issuu report. This trend was even
future lawyer will need to expand comes to the continued training
stronger amongst companies who
its roster of skills to adapt to an and upskilling of solicitors on the
have grown in the last financial
environment that is more job, this is a road less travelled.
year, of which 63% rate it as their
business-oriented and tech-savvy.
top priority. These primarily took
Outside the legal world – there’s
form as workshop seminars, on-
plenty of evidence of the ROI for
the-job training, and coaching by
building learning & development
“We need our lawyers to external providers.
(L&D) programmes for employees.
imagine, create and then
Soft Skills: When collaboration
make different recipes for According to a recent study by
becomes compulsory for a project
how we do existing and Issuu,39 companies that spend
employees must utilise their softer
new types of work.” more than average on upskilling
‘human’ skills (empathy, humility,
John Craske, CMS 38 per employees (£300 and up) are
deference) that help people work
twice as likely to say their staff are
towards a common goal.
highly satisfied, and never
Combining the results of two 2018
reported a retention rate of fewer
surveys, one by the World
Firms will need to invest in the than six months. The report adds
Economic Forum40 on Future
future lawyer-preneur by: that companies with strong L&D
Workforce Strategy and the other
1. Upskilling solicitors and culture exhibit success factors
by LinkedIn41, it was reported that
partners on the job such as using new technologies
92% of C-level executives rated
2. Treating lawyers as strategic and dedicated training ROI
soft skills as more important than
partners tracking.
hard ‘role specific’ skills.
92% OF C - L E V E L
executives polled
Top soft skills identified as critical by C-suiters:
65% 64% 55%
consider having soft skills equal to or more
important than possession of hard skills Leadership Communication Collaboration
Blog.Cake.hr 42
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 15The Pillars of the Future Firm Culture
Farmers Insurance
London, UK
Virtual reality (VR) training is
not a distant possibility in
some far-off future. Now being
tested and deployed by
companies such as
McDonald’s, Alzheimers
Research UK, and the National
Academy for Rail, experts
believe that this is the future
for upskilling. With the main
advantage of hypothetical
simulations, VR training allows
the employee to imagine
scenarios in a visual manner,
ask questions in real-time, and
explore soft skills such as
empathy and decision-making.
Farmers wanted to prompt
critical thinking around the 2. The Lawyer as a Strategic Partner
decisions that claims
With solicitors flocking to engaged, and the lawyer’s advice
adjusters make in their role –
commercial and not-for-profit is more well-rounded and
before they’ve even entered a
companies with an entrepreneurial business-driven. ‘Fifteen years
customer’s home. By adding
environment where they feel ago, in-house lawyers sat in the
VR technology to their L&D
empowered and stimulated, it’s proverbial backroom and
programme. ‘(Learners) really
time to have an in-house attitude remained distant from the
appreciated the opportunity to
towards employees. business,’ says Ben Foat, Legal
be able to slow down, think a
Director at the United Kingdom
little more about the decisions
In-house lawyers already Post Office. ‘Now they are seen as
that they were making, and
understand the benefit of being strategic business partners,
also be able to ask questions
involved at various stages of a whose work is core to the
in the moment,’ says Jessica
legal process. ‘There are always business.’ 3
DeCanio, Head of the
new issues, which means there is
University of Farmers. 39
always an opportunity to learn. No Increased engagement is the best
two days are the same,’ says indicator of whether lawyers feel
Charlotte Lakin, an in-house empowered. A recent report by
paralegal at Live Nation Aon, representing nearly 10,000
Entertainment.3 The main benefit legal UK professionals, suggests
of this approach is that the lawyer that there are still many gaps that
feels both stimulated and need to be filled.43
The Top 50% most engaged departments
Photo courtesy of Samuel Zeller
have an average
33% less attrition HRMagazine.com 43
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 16The Pillars of the Future Firm Culture
According to the report, only
Their Innovation Underground
52% of professionals in the legal Allens project encourages junior
sector say they felt engaged. Sydney, Australia lawyers to actively collaborate
Partners are the most engaged
with senior lawyers and staff
demographic in the legal sector
One way to tackle the issue of across the firm. Their A-Plus
at 66%, while associates are the
giving solicitors a sense of group rounds up some 70
most disengaged at only 43%
empowerment is through the external business and knowledge
engagement. Trainees came in
creation of independent think development professionals to
second at 59%, followed by
tank groups. work alongside lawyers. The
business services and partners
third prong, LawLab, works with
at 56%.43
Top tier national law firm clients on legal technology.
Only 54% of associates felt they Allens recently rolled out a
‘Sometimes with large-scale
were empowered and had 100% in-house multi-pronged
projects you need a specialist
autonomy at work, compared to strategy designed to drive
project manager. Clients have
81% of partners. Just 40% felt innovation, increase their
found it to be fantastic,’ said
they had been provided with solicitors’ sense of autonomy,
Managing Partner, Richard
strong career opportunities, in and respond to the changing
Spurio, to The Australian Business
comparison to 65% of partners. market demands.
Review. 44
Additionally, only 32% said they
had experienced firm leadership
in contrast to 53% of partners.43
Giving associates a stronger
voice within the firm,
strengthening their account-
ability in client relationships, The lawyer is no longer someone you need at a specific point in
would help to bridge the time, for a specific set of circumstances. They must be seen as a
engagement gap in the sector, strategic partner that is both driving and resolving the business
the report suggested. needs of the firm, and its clients.
Legal Professionals Surveyed in the UK
43% 54% 40% Associates
66% 81% 65% Partners
Feel engaged Feel empowered Feel provided with career
opportunities HRMagazine.com 43
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 17The Pillars of the Future Firm Culture
Pillar #3:
Smart Legal Tech “Baby Boomers are
more likely than
Technology is reshaping all
Millennials and Gen
aspects of life and work, and the Z’ers to say that they
legal industry is no exception. would rather forget to
While UK law firms are brush their teeth, than
increasingly recognising the need get 50 pointless emails.”
to evolve their technology
solutions, their employees are Workfront UK State of Work 15
growing increasingly frustrated
with its progress.
What once seemed like a wish-list time, using mobile devices such
of irreconcilable demands is now a as a phone or tablet. As the Law
prerequisite for survival in the Society recently reported,46
modern legal landscape. As ‘devices such as smartphones
millennials reach an age where and tablets allow lawyers to
they rely more on legal services, access law firm data remotely.
many are discovering that law They can conduct work on the
firms aren’t meeting those move with easy access to firms’
expectations. data and legal research platforms
from any location.’
The future in legal technology will
endeavour to: The strategic implementation of
this technology is the ticket to its
1. Embrace work management success:
technology with a millennial
sensibility Less Work About Work: According
2. Adopt a holistic family of legal to the Workfront UK State of Work
tech products 2018 Report, 15 40% of UK workers
report that they spend time on
1. Work Management work about work. Certainly not the
best use of their time. So selecting
Tech the right work management
87% A traditional working culture has
been holding firms back from
technology for the right teams is
key. The main objective should be
to reduce work about work, and
embracing technological change.
of legal A recent Legal Week Intelligence
ensure that tools are as easy to
adopt as the technology in our
professionals and Microsoft survey of legal private lives.
professionals in the UK found that
said they still 87% of those surveyed said they Servicing Clients: Clients also
still use pen and paper for
use pen and completing legal work. 45
want good management tech. As
millennials reach an age where
paper for Things need to change.
they rely more on legal services,
many are discovering that law
completing firms aren’t meeting those
The future firm will transition to a expectations. Firms will need to
legal work 45
mobile-first world, where all the start considering digital services
back-end systems, process and cloud-based document
management and documents are storage, that will satisfy the
stored remotely in the cloud and Millennial’s craving for tech
accessible anywhere and at any solutions.
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 18The Pillars of the Future Firm Culture
2. Legal Tech Tools
Today, there are three clear would take paralegals and junior
technology applications for law: lawyers 15 hours to complete,
takes just ten minutes through its
Blockchain: ‘Blockchain platform [Raconteur Legal
technology can affect the legal Innovation 2018 Report]. Other
practice by securing a database applications include document
where documents, such as proofing, document automation,
evidence, can be stored and then decision trees, contract analysis,
referenced later on if arguments due diligence, and legal research.50
arise,’ says Primavera De Filippi, a
researcher at the National Center Online Courts: ‘Online is not an
of Scientific Research in Paris and alternative to the courts system, it
Faculty Associate at Harvard is the courts system. Within ten
University.49 years, most cases will be resolved
by online courts,’ said Professor
AI-Automation: According to AI Richard Susskind, IT Adviser to
platform Luminance, the same the Lord Chief Justice in the UK.3
document review task, which
Singapore’s
Supreme Court
went paperless in
2014 62
Gardens By The Bay, Singapore
Millennials and Technology 50
65%+ 60%+
would prefer to receive
of employers expect
to be working in a high-tech perks vs low-
smart office in the tech perks such as beer
next five years. and ping pong
80%+ 80%+
of Millennials say feel advanced tech &
workplace tech would smart offices are
have an influence when crucial to a productive
deciding to take a job work environment
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 19The Pillars of the Future Firm Culture
But are firms doing legal tech • 86% of law firms agree that
right? The short answer is: to a automation is important to Obelisk
certain extent. deliver insights and analytics London, UK
to clients, only 18% have, to
Intapp, a leading provider of date, made the investments
Obelisk is an award-winning
business applications for necessary to embed this
legal services provider and
professional services firms, capability into their service
active member of the London
conducted a survey in delivery models.
tech community, that
collaboration with The Lawyer.
provides flexible legal
While every law firm in the survey • 44% of respondents stated
solutions to law firms and in-
considered intelligent automation that intelligent automation for
house legal teams. Founded
and data-driven insights to be opportunity identification and
in 2010, Obelisk specialises
highly important, there is a cross-selling is very important,
in unique work models that
significant gap between this yet only 16 % of law firms
are designed to benefit both
recognition and the actual report they are currently
lawyers who choose to work
investment in deploying these utilising data-driven insights.
differently, and clients who
technologies.52
want access to an expert
talent pool on a flexible basis.
• 97% feel that intelligent
automation is important for
In order to facilitate lawyer-
conflicts, yet only 44 % of
to-client matching needs,
firms are taking advantage of
Obelisk has developed a
data-driven insights in this
proprietary solicitor pairing
area.
Going forward, firms will software. Buzz starts by
need to understand how mining a database of 1,500+
• 90 % of firms believe that using
lawyers for the best talent to
data-driven insights to manage to embrace technology
in ways that augment meet the specific exigencies
client terms is important, only
the solicitor – with the of clients’ needs. This
16 % currently use technology
solicitor and technology custom-built technology
solutions for this purpose.
working hand-in-hand. platform then brings the
This will free up time for team together through a
• 87% of firms think intelligent
transparent process of
automation is important for him or her to focus on
carefully designed steps and
resource allocation, yet only high-level consulting.
collaboration points.
14% have invested in this area.
Essentially, it connects and
then guides the entire team
seamlessly through each
project from start to finish.
However, the technology was
not designed to completely
replace humans. Checks and
balances have been built into
the system in order to
preserve that human touch.
Whether it be approving a
solicitor search short-list,
creating a client project wish
list, or writing up feedback
after a job is completed,
Buzz ensures that a team
member can always input
“Human first. Everything else comes after.” his or her expertise.
-- Dana Denis-Smith, Obelisk Support
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 20The Pillars of the Future Firm Culture
2019 U.S. House of Democrats
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
Pillar #4:
January 2019 marked a historic moment for the US House
Mind (Re)set of Representatives: The 116th House is the most diverse
ever sworn in, with more women, people of colour (men and
Perhaps the biggest change over women), openly LGBTQ+ members, and Millennials serving
the next decade, is the increased than ever before.53
expectation of solicitors around
equality and wellbeing. With
demographic diversity as a bare
minimum, solicitors of tomorrow 1. Gender Equality (Re)visited
will look to firms for personalised The issue of gender inequality is position to address it. Failure to do
solutions that meet their physical not new, and neither is it specific so may place firms at risk of
and mental health needs. to law. And yet no area of the seeming out of step with the
business world is more illogically future lawyer. "I think they’re
However, the Top 100 law firms gender imbalanced than law firms. missing a real point in the current
haven’t arrived at this point yet, social and political environment,"
especially when it comes to How can the future firm finally said Tony Williams, founder of
gender equality. Given that they attain gender equality? Jomati Consultants, which
still struggle to fill top partnership focuses on the legal industry.24
positions with women, and offer Flexible Work: The lack of flexibility
more work-life balance to offered by law firms is Change from the Top: Of course,
employees (while smaller firms do perpetuating the gender disparity any corporate shift will flourish if it
not), they are playing a dangerous in senior roles. As women comes from the top, and for any
game with their future and progress in their career, they are type of broad culture change, a
success in attracting and retaining forced to make decisions on how certain level of executive buy-in is
top talent. to combine working life with required. However, because the
parental responsibilities. Often gender gap in law is so big, and
Here are four areas that are women leave because they can’t the improvements so slow, drastic
critical for the future firm in achieve a reasonable work-life measures will need to be taken by
addressing equality, engagement balance. Flexible working needs to the most senior of partners in
and wellbeing: become accepted as a de facto order to effect change.
work solution – without creating
1. Finally enabling women to negative fears among those who
attain equality choose them. Female Lawyers in the UK
2. A new way of approaching represent:
profit sharing and equity Transparency of Gender Pay
3.
4.
Eradicating the flex-work
stigma
Taking mental health
Reports: By including partners in
published gender pay reports,
firms will not only gain awareness
58%
of trainees
27%
of partners
seriously of the issue, they will also be in a ChambersStudents.co.uk 26
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 21The Pillars of the Future Firm Culture
2. (Re)thinking Equity
Promotion to equity partner has interested in per-project fee
become a pipe dream. Put simply, structures, alternative fees such
it’s twice as difficult to become an as fixed fees, capped fees and
equity partner than it was thirty success fees are gaining
years ago, and that is thanks to momentum. A key enabler is the
the underlying business model use of data analytics that can
that produces these outcomes. project the total legal effort of a
project, allowing firms to provide
Today’s average profits per more detailed and transparent
taj partner are 2.5 times what they pricing to their clients. ‘Our firm
Paris, France were thirty years ago – when the frequently prices work according
ratio of highest-to-lowest partner to the value of the solution
Gianmarco Monsellato, Head compensation within equity provided to the client, rather than
of TAJ - a member of the partnerships was 3-to-1, versus by the hour,’ says Nick Pryor at
Deloitte network, decided to today’s ratio exceeding 10-to-1. As Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.3
tackle the gender problem the rich have become richer, and Indeed, since clients value how
personally by getting fewer, annual equity partner firms resolve their business
involved in every single earnings of many millions of issues, rather than how many
promotion. ‘For a long time,’ dollars have become hours lawyers spend trying to
he told Harvard Business commonplace.55 resolve them, adopting alternative
fees is a future-proof approach to
Review, ‘I was the only one
Curbing Billable Hours: The core resetting the firm mindset.3
allocating cases.’ He insisted
on gender parity from the problem starts with the billable
hour, and moves through metrics Higher-Archies: In order to appeal
beginning, by tracking
that managers use to maximise to the future workforce, another
promotions, compensation
short-run partner profits. However, consideration would be to rethink
and personally ensuring that
some firms have already started the firm’s traditional hierarchical
the best assignments were
tackling this sticky issue. For structure – which dates back
evenly awarded between
example, Forsters has one of the hundreds of years for some. Many
men and women.
lowest billable hours target, with millennials believe in a holacratic
annual target hours for trainees at organisational structure, involving
Other firms can learn from
975, while still keeping its pay of self-organising teams with
this hands-on approach. By
newly qualified lawyers in line with decision-making power, rather
taking practical steps and
City firms.55 than a managerial heavy
focusing on performance, it
hierarchy. Here, every team
is possible to overcome
Alternative Fees: With clients member’s opinion counts and
gender bias.
being more price sensitive and shapes the work.56
‘My biggest issue is trying to
stop women from working all
the time,’ Monsellato told
Today, it’s 2x
Harvard Business Review, ‘as
technology allows them to
work anywhere, anytime. It’s
the “tone from the top” that is
key.’ Speaking to a roomful
as difficult to become an equity partner
of female lawyers at a recent The Lawyer Bubble.com 55
conference, he reminded
them, ‘You are not a
minority.’
Today, TAJ is 50/50 gender
balanced.54
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 22The Pillars of the Future Firm Culture
44%
of firm lawyers don’t feel
comfortable approaching their
employer about flexible work
Only 9% 22%
of in-house lawyers don’t feel
of lawyers actually use reduced hours comfortable approaching their
Alliance Diversity & Flexibility Report 60 employer about flexible work
Hydrogen Group 16
3. (Re)moving Flex-Work Stigma
In the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance about flexible working. So jobs on flexible working sites.16
2017 Report, 100% of the top 28 clearly, there’s a disconnect.
US law firms surveyed, reported A fundamental shift in how flex
that they implemented reduced In addition to this, only 41% of work is viewed is paramount.
hours. However, of those firms UK law firm recruiters make it Lawyers should not feel afraid to
offering reduced time, only 9% of standard practice to offer request flexible work solutions,
lawyers actually use them, of information about flexible and neither should they be
which 66% were women. working options before penalised for not being at the
someone joins their company. office. To the contrary – it should
According to the Hydrogen Group Of these, only 18% raise the be encouraged and even rewarded
report,16 44% of UK lawyers don’t topic during the interview when it results in an improvement
feel comfortable approaching their process, and only 9% promote to a lawyer’s work output.
employer about flexible work, vs
22% of their in-house
counterparts. However, when law
firm HR departments were asked
the same question, 89% claimed
that staff would feel comfortable
73%
approaching the organisation
of 2,000 UK workers surveyed want a
“We have found that workplace culture where people are judged
allowing agile working
has had a big impact on
on the work they do rather than the hours
morale because people they put in
appreciate that trust.” TimeWise and Deloitte 61
Sarah Gregory
Inclusion & Diversity Partner,
Baker & McKenzie 16
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 23The Pillars of the Future Firm Culture
4. (Re:) Mental Health
Who Is Doing
what? While every industry has workers illness in the legal industry are
facing psychological challenges, calling for the law to be amended,
Ernst & Young launched its r those in law seem to suffer in making it mandatory to appoint
u ok? programme to address disproportionately high numbers. mental health first-aiders in the
mental illness and addiction
same way as physical first-aiders.
among its staff. The idea is to A 2016 study of US lawyers in the ’Employers who introduce
enhance EY’s culture of Wall Street Journal revealed that mental health first aiders and
caring by reaching out to 20.6% of those surveyed were
people who may be
focus on improving the
heavy drinkers (vs. 15.4% for wellbeing of staff see both
struggling, and removing the members of the American College
stigma around asking for, or morale and productivity
of Surgeons) and that 28% improve,’ says Jodie Hill at
accepting help. The experienced symptoms of
programme also offers 24/7 Thrive Law.59
depression (vs. 8% or less for the
support.56 general population). A 2012 CDC
This is why it is paramount for
study also cited in the Journal,
American Express’ Healthy firms to not only remove the
claimed lawyers have the 11th-
Minds employee assistance stigma of mental illness, but to
highest suicide rate.55
programme not only provides also put initiatives in place to help
part-time counsellors at each Recent efforts to address mental any employees who are suffering.
employee clinic, but it has
also hired a clinical
38%
psychologist to run the
initiative and continuously
improve its services.57
Online banking giant
Barclay’s began This Is Me to
challenge the ‘stigma around
mental health at work and of 70,000 Law Society’s
aim to break the culture of
silence, by supporting people
Junior Lawyers Division
to tell their own stories.’ members said they
Spearheaded by the experienced mental illness
company’s disability network
known as Reach, these in the last year.
colleagues banded together
LawGazette.co.uk 59
to record their mental health
challenges.57 Photo courtesy of Buco Balkanessi
Unilever, a 172,000-person
company, has a global health
initiative in place for all
employees that includes a
specific and comprehensive
mental health program. They Becoming a partner is the dream that has for decades
provide training for managers manifested into a monster culture of working ‘til you dropped,
and senior leaders, host
and then some. But if the ends justifies the means, then how is it
internal campaigns to raise
sustained when the ends are no longer in reach? Firms will have
awareness about mental
to ask themselves the hard question: ‘How can we increase the
illness, and hold regular
employee workshops on rate of partnerships at our firm, without also driving more hours
sleep, mindfulness and of work?’ And more importantly, ‘How can we encourage gender
exercise.58 parity at the top echelons of the ladder?’
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 24What’s next?
The future firm will focus on optimising creativity, This is why we're excited to be able to partner
collaboration and productivity – and at with law firms to share Obelisk Support's
supersonic speeds. experience of making flexible working work,
along with access to our talent pool of over 1,500
In this world, agility, speed and creativity will drive lawyers.
the competitive advantage, by focusing on the
four pillars of firm culture: Working closely with you, we can provide the
following services to help your firm thrive:
1. Promoting flexible workspace options that • On-demand access to over a million hours of
can be tailored to the worker’s needs flexible legal talent
• Design, advice and sourcing to power your
2. Fostering a future lawyer that is own "Returners" programme
entrepreneurial and adaptive to a variety of • Consulting to help you understand and evolve
situations your workplace culture.
3. Strategically adopting technology that makes Together we will forge a strategy that will evolve
sense for specific, clearly defined objectives your work culture in terms of place, people,
technology and mindset, in order to promote top
4. Resetting the corporate climate to be more talent, delight clients and ensure the future
accepting of differences in people and how success of your firm.
they work
We have reached a critical moment. Let's take
This change is significant. It will take time and fundamental action to future-proof the shape and
effort and it can't be done alone. operation of the legal industry.
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 25About obelisk Support
Obelisk Support is an award-winning legal services provider and an active
member of the London tech community, providing flexible legal
solutions to law firms and in-house legal teams, including those of
many of the FTSE 100. Dana Denis-Smith, the founder of Obelisk
Support, is an outspoken champion of women in law. She is the
LexisNexis Legal Personality of the Year 2018 and is also the founder of
the First 100 Years Project.
Founded in 2010, Obelisk Support has developed a unique flexible
working model, designed to deliver high-quality legal expertise to law
firms and in-house legal teams without the constraints of traditional
office hours. Our consultants can be available in a matter of days for
urgent projects or work with your teams on longer-term engagements.
contact
Dana Denis-Smith, CEO
Obelisk Support
d.denis-smith@obelisksupport.com
WHITE PAPER | Back To the Future: Reshaping law Firm Culture 26references
1. Resilience Through Change: PwC Law Firms’ Survey 2018. (2018). PwC.com.
2. Upskilling in the 21s Century . (2019, January 1). Entrepreneur.com.
3. Legal Innovation. (2018, February 7). Raconteur.com.
4. Cotter, P. (2018, September 14). How millennials are redesigning the future of work. The Irish Times.
5. Christin, L. (2018, May 2). Confronting Lawyer Turnover in Law Firms. AttorneyAtWork.com.
6. Calnan, M. (2016, February 11). 23% of law firms believe workplace stress and burnout are
increasing. EmployeeBenefits.co.uk.
7. The rise of work-life balance in Legal. (2018, May 15). idexconsulting.com.
8. Tackling mental health in law firms. (2018, December 13). GlobalLegalPost.com
9. 2018 Global CEO Outlook. (2018, June 8). kpmg.com
10. Future of Work. (2018, December 4). Raconteur.com.
11. Tromans, R. (2017). AI Now: The growing adoption of Legal AI. blogs.ThomsonReuters.com.
12. Flinders, K. (2018, April 26). Almost all London law firms are using or plan to use artificial intelligence.
ComputerWeekly.com.
13. Bindman, D. (2018, November 20). Law firms embracing tech but holding back on AI due to cost.
LegalFuture.co.uk.
14. Watson, P. W. (2018, September 28). Machines Will Do Half our Work by 2025. Forbes.com.
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(2016). HydrogenGroup.com.
17. Simmons, R. (2016). Flexible working for lawyers: who’s doing what? TheLawyer.com.
18. Bailey, J. (2018, September 5). Is lack of flexible working a barrier for women in the legal industry?
WomenInLawSummit.org.
19. Friedman, R. (2016, October 14). Will all lawyers work for the Big 4 by 2026? PrismLegal.com.
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