In the webinar The State of the UK Legal Market in 2024, hosted by Thomson Reuters, a panel of distinguished legal leaders convened to discuss the evolving landscape of the UK legal sector. This blog post distils the insights shared during the webinar, providing a comprehensive overview for legal professionals on the current trends and future outlook of the UK legal industry.
Introduction to the webinar and panelists
The panel comprised Ed Poulton, Managing Partner at Baker McKenzie’s London office; Jeff Langlands, General Counsel of Corporate, Digital and Networks at BT Group plc and Simon Ridpath, Managing Partner at Charles Russell Speechlys. Tommy Williams, Vice President of Large Law Firms at Thomson Reuters, moderated the panel.
Key focus areas for 2024
The panel discussed several critical areas that are shaping the strategies of the legal industry for 2024 including commerciality, cost control, risk mitigation, ESG, and technology.
Commerciality
The discussion on commerciality highlighted how law firms could better understand and meet business needs. Jeff Langlands emphasized the importance of pragmatism in legal services: “By the time it gets to [the lawyers], our stakeholders in the business are often running out of patience already. Therefore, they want pragmatism. They want a quick solution. It’s our job collectively to deliver on that point.” The panel had a spirited discussion about the relative importance of outside counsel delivering sector-specific expertise.
Generative AI and its impact
The potential, and challenges, of generative AI in legal practices were a significant focus, though the panel were clear that GenAI is still in very early days. Simon Ridpath shared insights on client expectations regarding GenAI, “I think the client feedback is: how are you going to use it on my matters for cost saving? Will it be one of those things that we can benefit from? I think, from our perspective, it’s making sure that we’re able to be really transparent with clients around how we intend to use it and what the benefits will be.”
Edward Poulton added, “If you can see the value, if the AI really saves a lot of money as you go forward, no one will begrudge paying the right price for it. Particularly as long as you have certainty, predictability, and transparency.”
Jeff Langlands provided a view from in-house: “We need to be aware as a legal profession that we’re quite high up the list of professions where there is seen to be significant benefit from AI. Our stakeholders at the executive level see that and they expect their in-house legal teams to be either rebutting or delivering that benefit.”
Client expectations and law firm responses
Jeff Langlands discussed the evolving expectations of clients, and whether that is coming primarily from an increase in work volume or risking costs: “I think it’s probably a bit of both, if I’m honest… there is more within the scope of the legal department that they are asking for support from their external law firms on.” The panel emphasised the growing complexity and scope of services that clients expect from their legal advisors.
Simon Ridpath reflected on what law firm service looks like at its best: “The traditional fear of engagement with law firms – because time spent is ‘on the clock’ – actually leads to circumstances where your information is filtered or limited to a task or problem. In my experience firms offer the best service to clients when they see the whole picture, as it is then on them to deliver advice that is sensitive to wider challenges in the business.”
The importance of ESG in legal practices
The role of ESG role in legal practices is becoming increasingly significant, the panellists agreed. Jeff Langlands remarked, “ESG is enormous, isn’t it? I almost feel like we’re at a point where we need to break it down into three [environment, social and governance] because each of the three is enormous.” The panellists commented on the varied concerns of each leg of the ESG triad, and how global compliance regimes in each are not only changing rapidly but, in many cases, diverging from each other.
Simon Ridpath had a similar view of the vast scope of potential ESG activities: “I think the prospect of regulation in this space – where it is not in place already – as well as a wider social recognition of the requirement as an employer and business to be responsible means it is a significant factor for many corporate clients. We have a large private client business. There, the requirement is more subtle as it is driven through philanthropy or sustainability as a landowner for example rather than regulation and employment. It’s no less relevant.”
The role of technology in legal efficiency
Technology’s role in enhancing legal efficiency was also a key topic. Edward Poulton described a practical application of AI, “We came up with a solution whereby using [the client’s] data [gathered from acting for this client over a number of years], we were able to develop a system wherein AI will come up with a first draft for a lawyer to review.” Poulton and the other panellists also referred to potential technological pitfalls, such as the “hallucinations” that GenAI tools have been known to output.
Conclusion: Summing up
Tommy Williams, reflecting on the lessons of the session, noted: “As global regulation and compliance becomes more and more complex for corporations and law firms to navigate, the state of UK Legal Market continues to play a key role at that intersection of regulation, compliance, commerce and trade. The key points of discussion from this conversation should remain top of mind for those operating in the UK legal sector.”
Download The State of the UK Legal Market in 2024 report now for more data and insights.
