Post Covid -19: What next for the legal profession? The need for a paradigm shift.

May 16, 2020hiltontopsolicitorsNo CommentsCategories: Technology

The novel covid-19 has disrupted our businesses, economic and social order. The legal profession is not left out.

In a world where social and physical distancing has become the new normal, the need to think, act and approach the business of legal practice in a different way to adapt to the new normal has become pertinent and cannot be over emphasized.The impact of covid-19 is being felt across various sectors and market segments, and thus, there’s a need for immediate actions, while positioning for the strongest possible future.

WILL THINGS RETURN TO NORMALCY?

The legal profession until recently has been acculturated to respect precedent, avoid making mistakes, and adapt to a risk-averse, inward focused culture that promotes the myth of its exceptionalism.

Law has responded to past crises with characteristic caution, resistance to material change and an expectation of return to normalcy.Past crises have not altered legal culture or alter its way of doing things.

Some past economic downturns produced short -term industry cosmetic change. They did not expose the industry’s systemic weaknesses or trigger rapid adoption of new operating models.Covid-19 is different.

It has cast a harsh light on the outdated way justice is dispensed, law is taught, and legal services are delivered.*Dispensation Of JusticeIt is imperative to modernize the justice system. Its virtual standstill at a time when it is most needed has expanded the access to justice crises.

The novel covid-19 has disrupted our businesses, economic and social order. The legal profession is not left out.
In a world where social and physical distancing has become the new normal, the need to think, act and approach the business of legal practice in a different way to adapt to the new normal has become pertinent and cannot be over emphasized.
The impact of covid-19 is being felt across various sectors and market segments, and thus, there’s a need for immediate actions, while positioning for the strongest possible future.
WILL THINGS RETURN TO NORMALCY?
The legal profession until recently has been acculturated to respect precedent, avoid making mistakes, and adapt to a risk-averse, inward focused culture that promotes the myth of its exceptionalism.
Law has responded to past crises with characteristic caution, resistance to material change and an expectation of return to normalcy.
Past crises have not altered legal culture or alter its way of doing things. Some past economic downturns produced short -term industry cosmetic change. They did not expose the industry’s systemic weaknesses or trigger rapid adoption of new operating models.
Covid-19 is different
It has cast a harsh light on the outdated way justice is dispensed, law is taught, and legal services are delivered.*
Dispensation Of Justice
It is imperative to modernize the justice system. Its virtual standstill at a time when it is most needed has expanded the access to justice crises.
There are encouraging signs that judicial modernization will occur. This is demonstrated by the practice direction for remote hearing of cases by some states such as Lagos and Ogun states and few others.
This will help the courts to be faster, more accessible, creative, scalable, and efficient in the dispensation of justice.
Law Schools
In a matter of weeks, law schools in some other nations of the world have transitioned to online learning. A transition from the norm.
Law schools must align with the market place to prepare graduates for what it means to become a lawyer now. This calls for reconsidering the curriculum.
Legal Services
The old way of legal service delivery will no longer be of help to any lawyer who is in legal practice, Thus there’s a need to adapt to the new way. The industry will accelerate its gradual transformation to a multidisciplinary, integrated, platform-driven, capitalised, data-based, problem-solving, customer centric market place.
The question to ask is which part of the ‘old law’ will remain and not whether things will return to normalcy.
WHY THE NEED FOR A CHANGE IN THE LEGAL PRACTICE
The impact of covid-19 has changed the mode of legal practice and as such lawyers must adapt to the new way of legal practice.
In T. S Eliot’s THE JOURNEY OF THE MAGI
“The legal establishment is no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation – It has witnessed the birth of new ways of doing things and the death of the old order…”
The pandemic will cause industry transformation and change legal culture.
TECHNOLOGY
The use of technology will eliminate many jobs once handled by lawyers.
The impact of covid-19 will show that a business will be able to assess its legal obligations and exposures, and strategically align technology, systems and processes to enable simple things like findings, analysis, legal contracts quickly and efficiently, rather than relying on the human capital of it’s internal and external lawyers.
The above will be enabled by the availability and branded use of a range of different providers of those services, as advisory, tech- enabled products and insourced and outsourced solutions come together to provide business with a ‘portfolio’ approach to providing legal support to business. At its core, business will better appreciate that legal is an essential business function that helps to support and drive customer engagement and experience, simplicity and efficiency of functions and processes and the ability to drive revenue, as well as helping to reduce cost and manage risk.
WAY FORWARD
Use Of Technology
Technology is an operational lifeline.
A lawyer will need to acquire and build new skillsets, mindsets, and agility.
Lawyers will have to make use of technology to enable them work from home, conduct, hold virtual and remote meetings.
Collaboration
Law firms must differentiate and collaborate seamlessly with other organisations in the supply chain to drive customer value.
Design Regulations
Regulations must be designed to better serve legal consumers and society.Existing Regulations should be overhauled to remove unnecessary barriers in the corporate segment and to end the scourge of access to justice crisis in the retail market.
CONCLUSION
The impact of covid-19 on people, businesses and markets applies across sectors and market segments, and requires a range of immediate actions while positioning for the strongest possible future. Consequently, there is a need for the legal industry to inquire into how it can do better and start with the consumer perspective.
Collaboration, agility, experience, results and competency will drive the buy-sell dynamics, not only pedigree and provenance.
Covid-19 has harnessed the potential of underutilized tools and alternative work PARADIGMS long resisted by the legal industry.

DEBORAH E. ONI(ESQ)

PRINCIPAL PARTNER

HILTON TOP SOLICITORS

Email – hiltontopsolicitors@gmail.com