Law2023 Report Finds Great Opportunity for Legal Industry

The future of the legal sector is not only prosperous, but leading the most exciting changes in our society.

This is the conclusion Law2023 has come to after a full year mapping the most significant trends in technology, economics and cultural change to how law firms actually work.

We, as a partner of Law2023, discovered that law is facing disruptions like those faced by many other industries. These disruptions are creating new challenges and opportunities and ultimately forcing firms to think about the long-term impact of their actions today. Rather than taking an industry-centric research approach however, Law2023 began by studying larger trends in technology, culture and economics and interviewing leaders of other industries who have caused or been victims of similar disruptions and then inserted law into the conversation.

Throughout the year-long project, 22 interviews were conducted with big thinkers at leading companies and universities, authors and reporters, and designers from around the world who are already sketching the future. Below are the seven conclusions which were discovered:

  1. Technologies will enable lawyers to bill for real value.
  2. Firms will develop offerings that transcend jurisdiction.
  3. Demand for responsive institutions will create new markets for accountability.
  4. Firms will tap new talent and enable new pathways to practice.
  5. Transparency will push firms to seek hyper-specific markets.
  6. Firms will launch R&D departments to create new offerings. User research and innovation will shape client experience of legal products.
  7. User research and innovation will shape client experience of legal products.

The stakes for the next decade are greater than today’s industry metrics of gross revenues and profits per equity partner. Taken together, the seven opportunities identified represent a chance to build a legal industry that is radically more responsive to the demands of clients as well as society.

As Jeff Leitner, Founder and Dean of Insight Labs and partner in Law2023, suggested, rather than viewing these conclusions as a final verdict, use them as a catalyst for your own thinking. Join us as we further evolve these seven conclusions to shape the legal industry and strive to create Great Law.