Three Forces Driving Change in Legal Services

The legal profession is undergoing profound disruption as changes in supply and demand, business models, and the workforce collide all at once.

Technology is fueling rapid change across all these dimensions. New advances like generative artificial intelligence (genAI) are already transforming the legal profession — but their impacts are not yet fully realized or appreciated.

As organizations must adapt to this ever-evolving global marketplace, balancing regulatory and social demands and an expanding trend for digitization, this is also driving legal functions to evolve. Legal teams are now strategic partners, offering a broader range of products and services beyond the traditional legal portfolio.

Legal services providers who put their clients’ interests first will naturally gravitate toward technology and transformation. They will create the best experience possible for their clients, and the most rewarding careers for their lawyers. In the future, clients will likely make choices based on the level of service and value of solution they need, and the overall client experience that they receive.

Legal and compliance needs now extend beyond mere legal advice, into complex, multifaceted business solutions. It can involve designing programmatic approaches and developing strategies on how to deploy technology and leverage data or succeed with implementation and change management. As legal & compliance leadership increasingly seek to be strategic business partners that run their function professionally, they also need more help with optimizing legal operations and with transforming the function for the future. This new world requires external partners with new types of capabilities, like tech and data and complementary perspectives, offering a more multi-layered set of products and services to serve these new needs.

Victoria Swedjemark

Head of Legal Operations & Transformation Services

1. Disruptions in supply and demand in legal markets

The market’s demand for a broader and more flexible range of legal services has enabled a new wave of providers to join traditional law firms in the market. These new providers are growing and capturing an increasing share of the overall legal services market.

2. Shifting business models and value propositions

As technology takes on more basic or process-driven legal work, it will level the playing field among different providers. Clients will seek providers who can deliver quickly and efficiently, integrating technology with legal expertise.

3. Shifting attitudes toward legal careers

It is imperative for today’s legal leaders to embrace change. By doing so, they will steward a new generation of the profession that is well adapted, equipped and motivated to deliver legal services in the future.