A Changing Legal Profession: Implications for Regulators

Transcription

1 A Changing Legal Profession: Implications for Regulators

2 CBA s Futures Planning 4 years of research and consultation Consultations with staff, members and CBA leaders 950+ comments on Crystal Clear from 22 different sources Branch consultations, focus groups & research 12,000+ clicked to read our EPIIgrams on Futures articles visited Futures website

3 The Supply Side

4 Key Demographic Trends Supply Women in law Diversity Age and generational Number of lawyers Culture and values Demand Billing and pricing Commodification & unbundling Competition Technology Commercialization Rural/urban & access to justice

5 Women In The Law Females outnumber males in law school, lawyers called to bar and lawyers under age of 30 In lawyers over 60 ratio was 9 to 1

6 Women In Law Potential implications Need for change in organizational values and structure Change in work routine to reflect rise of family based and work-life values Could affect incomes and partnership structure Exodus of women?

7 Diversity Ethnic and visible minority mix in Canada changing rapidly Not equally reflected in legal profession No good data collected % of lawyers were white vs. 87% in general labour force ¾ of non-white lawyers were South Asian, Black or Chinese

8 Potential Implications Additional fragmentation (or isolation) especially in small firms of lawyers being organized by ethnic group or service of specific community Pressures to bring ethnic representation in line especially in areas of high concentration of ethnic populations Negative attitudes towards profession because of lack of representation in our ranks

9 Age and Generational Differences Specific attitudes of younger lawyers Achieve work-life balance Willingness to become involved and make a difference in their community Understand that law requires life long learning Ipsos-Reid survey of law students It is not show me the money 35% help society 32% intellectual stimulation 29% range and flexibility of profession 21% income potential and financial stability

10 Generational cont d Time demands, workload and lack of personal life are stressors for all lawyers Even lawyers with 7-8 years of practice 70% said thinking of leaving profession Catalyst Canada study of 10 large law firms a majority (62% of women, 50% of men) planned to change jobs in 5 years After 15 years of practice less likely to leave but majority considered changing practice

11 Potential Implications Exodus from profession Inability to attract lawyers to firms or certain areas of work or types of work Stress and dissatisfaction Increased frequency of inter-firm or interprovince mobility Lawyers changing area of practice

12 Numbers of Lawyers Law schools produce 3500 lawyers per year 1000 going into other or related disciplines % of lawyers in government ( % in %) Rising competition from paralegals, MDP type orgs., Internet virtual law services,etc. Law firms changing in size Sole practitioners increasing Women leaving and men entering (reason?) All others decreasing (merger a factor)

13 Potential Implications Increased competition for entry positions Increase in sole or small firms until such times as economics become untenable Increased competition for the most non-remunerative work (real estate, wills, document filing) Creation of niche or specialized firms Increase in ranks of contract lawyers & part timers Competition from outside Increased demand for creative promotion Creative offerings in other services

14 Culture and Values Lawyers not homogeneous Culture descriptor is beyond the norms of a group but revolve around the organization and the workplace Frequently expressed in the negative Tyranny of billable hour, toxic relationships because of inequity in satisfaction or financial reward, sexual harassment, workplace rigidity, etc.

15 Culture cont d CBA Ipsos-Reid survey Opinions are inter-generational and crossgenerational and not necessarily common Not a lot of information conclusions difficult to determine and evaluate Growing multiplicity of working cultures Growing multiplicity of personal culture Negative perception of lawyers having an impact as well as things like technology

16 Potential Implications We have much to learn Need to reaffirm shared values of legal profession Need to address the dominant cultural issues as they impact our profession Need to embrace the impact of the shifts and varying impacts of sub-groups to allow for accommodation

17 The Demand Side

18 Billing and Pricing Price or cost a key concern for clients Demand a standard to determine value for money More sophisticated legal services consumer Accounting firms, paralegals, Internet and infomediaries, ADR, consulting firms, etc. providing new choices to public

19 Potential Implications Challenges to regulation of the competition Impact on soft advertising Creation of new products insurance for prepaid legal, infomediaries providing forms and how-to, etc. Loss of loyalty to the lawyer or firm in price driven market Virtual legal firms Demand greater transparency of the law firms business processes and rules of governance

20 Commoditization and Unbundling Demand for basic services or cafeteria selection by clients Creates greater rigour for: Defining Pricing Delivering, and Charging for legal services

21 Potential Implications Fragmentation of lawyers into niches Downward pressure on prices in those legal services that can be commoditized (real estate, wills, etc.) Pressure to reduce costs and overheads Demand by public to de-legalize processes or even whole areas Increase in ADR and the development of new models Alternate pricing (fixed price, quantity discounts, risk sharing, etc.)

22 Competition and Technology Increased competition from non-lawyers Globalization increased competition outside Canada Internet ease of use, 24/7, low cost Virtual law firms Rise of info media Paralegals, DIY publishers, banks and real estate and other MDPs

23 Potential Implications Lawyers become information providers or coaches assist in pro se Unbundling of legal services & pricing Consumers more sophisticated and demanding and demand to be involved Creative promotion and advertising Downward demand on pricing and cost structures

24 More Potential Implications Demand for e everything e-filing, e- discovery, e-presentations in courts, etc. Speed up all elements of process (affects worklife balance) Demand for standards and protocols because of all the different system vendors Demand for tools and training by younger lawyers. Need to upgrade older ones.

25 Commercialization Technology, price, value for money, openness forced to be more business-like Influences of bottom line or profit centres on decision making, areas of practice, billings, acceptance of types of files, personnel management, investments in research and technology

26 Rural/Urban & Access to Justice High cost of law school and student debt Loss of remunerative work in rural areas (old bread and butter real estate and estates and wills) Technology is good and bad Could reduce costs and overhead of smaller firms Could be a big and continuing expense to keep up to new technology Diversity not keeping pace in law schools and therefore not the lawyers to be able to serve their constituencies

27 Potential Implications Fewer opportunities for lawyers Declining remunerative work and may only work in limited areas Loss of lawyers in specific areas that need to be serviced Lawyers not going back to communities Law school graduates forced to choose urban areas to work or areas of practice that pay more to pay off debt

28 Potential Impacts Negative effect on pro bono or servicing difficult of needy clients New skill sets for lawyers i.e. business planning, knowledge management Outside ownership of law firms Outsourcing non-legal work Niche markets and expansion into consulting and other non-traditional legal work Innovative and perhaps aggressive pricing to get work or keep clients

29 Key Future Activities of CBA Voice of the Canadian legal profession in order to protect its core values, promote the essential role of lawyers in society Advocate effective law reform and fair justice systems Be the authoritative source of information and expertise on the legal profession in Canada

30 Key Future Activities of CBA a leading provider of relevant, accessible and cost-effective professional development on law and practice matters affecting lawyers and the legal community a diverse association that facilitates and promotes equity and diversity in the legal profession

31 Role of Regulators Consider areas like: Commoditization of legal services and related issues, i.e. liability & insurance Competition, e.g. advertising, pricing structure, non-legal service providers including outside jurisdiction E-law: what are the implications Diversity data collection and benchmarking You tell me!

32 Thank you