Utilising best-in-class content, supported by generative AI to move you from questions to work product, faster.
Corporate M&A lawyers have faced tough headwinds in the past few years, as demand for their services dipped and in-house legal teams tightened up on spend management.
It turns out that, with the right technology and tools in place, softer demand can lead to opportunity. That’s especially true for corporate lawyers to evolve alongside their clients and grow despite changing demands. In the long run, that evolution will lead to one of the greatest benefits of modern technology: happier clients.
The shifting needs of in-house legal teams change the demand equation for law firms
Demand for law firms to undertake mergers and acquisitions (M&A) work fluctuated significantly during 2023, according to the 2024 State of the UK Legal Market report from Thomson Reuters.
Source: 2023 quarterly Net Spend Anticipation, 2024 State of the UK Legal Market report
Amid this variable market activity, many in-house legal teams were working intensely to support growth and transformation within their companies. These legal teams also received directions to manage outside legal costs and see about keeping certain types of work in-house. Cost control remains a top priority for GCs.
Source: 2024 State of the UK Legal Market Report
That dynamic can call into question the foundation of the relationship between clients and their external legal advisers. Law firm lawyers have developed expertise that makes them the go-to for certain matters. And in-house legal teams are examining matters that come up so routinely that they can handle them themselves.
As the 2024 State of the UK Legal Market report notes, the recent demand volatility “shows how important it is for law firms to be ready to adapt as demand fluctuates from one sector to another — and to ensure that their specialist knowledge covers a sufficiently wide range of practice areas and industries to allow for peaks and troughs in legal demand over the course of the year.”
Tools to help lawyers evolve with their clients
Modern technology makes it easier for lawyers to confidently say yes to types of matters they haven’t worked on before. Take Practical Law, for instance. This know-how tool serves up the information and templates you need to get started in a new area of law.
And, with Search & Summarise Practical Law, you can use the power of generative AI combined with the trusted expertise of Practical Law content to find answers faster.
What is Search & Summarise Practical Law?
Search & Summarise Practical Law is a generative AI search tool that allows users to enter a natural language question into an intuitive chat experience to get a summarised answer with links to the most relevant Practical Law resources.
Our generative AI technology is built specifically for the legal industry and our solutions. Harnessing its power can dramatically improve the way you access the trusted expertise from Practical Law. It provides trusted, synthesized answers while connecting you to supporting Practical Law resources for deeper insights.
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Other features within Practical Law Dynamic Tool Set
Knowledge Map
Visually navigate Practical Law’s collection to get a complete picture of your matter and identify issues you may have missed.
Interactive Matter Maps
With Matter Maps you can plan your work on each matter. You see the core phases and tasks in a legal matter with links to key resources at each phase.
Quick Compare
Compare multi-country information across practice areas and topics faster using Quick Compare. With just a few clicks, create charts that answer key questions across countries so you can explore the topics and data points that matter most to you.
What’s Market Analytics
Create data-driven insights and visualisations with What’s Market Analytics. Use it to analyse and share market trends and deal terms quickly. The visualisations from What’s Market Analytics help you make recommendations even faster and communicate your approach persuasively to clients and colleagues.
Build your expertise to better serve your clients
Your in-house clients are always going to go through cycles of taking more work on in-house. That doesn’t have to mean they will need you less. As certain types of matters become routine for them and they staff up to keep things in-house, you can shift your efforts to matters they aren’t encountering regularly.
As a trusted expert, clients rely on you to handle the legal scenarios they don’t see every day. You have the resources and the deep bench of problem-solving lawyers to deliver excellent work even on matters you haven’t seen before.
If you feel confident about the tools you have backing you up, you can also feel confident about your ability to take on new matter types. Your ability to say “yes” to new and non-routine matter types lets you meet your client’s needs as they change, so they don’t have to find a different firm to take the matter on. No more “no’s” from you leads to happier clients and a happier, busier corporate M&A team.
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Learn more about Practical Law’s latest feature, Search & Summarise Practical Law.