The legal profession is no stranger to disruption, but the pace and complexity of change facing the sector today are unprecedented. The International Bar Association’s (IBA) 2024 White Paper on the Future of Legal Services offers an essential pulse-check on the challenges—and opportunities—facing lawyers, law firms and legal institutions globally.
Based on a wide-reaching survey of legal professionals from around the world, this Report uncovers where the industry is heading and how well it’s preparing for the journey.
Here’s a summary of what you need to know in the Report:
🔍 The Purpose Behind the Report
The IBA’s Future of Legal Services Commission was established to analyse how the legal profession is evolving. Through its annual survey, it aims to identify priority challenges, assess sector readiness and provide guidance for law firms, legal service providers, and policymakers.
The 2024 report doubled its response rate compared to 2023, reflecting growing engagement from professionals across continents.
⚙️ Four Pillars, 17 Challenges
The report structures its analysis around four core themes:
People
Clients
Business
Rule of Law
Within these themes lie 17 specific challenges—from the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and ESG expectations to mental health, diversity and the integrity of justice systems.
📈 Key Insights from the 2024 Survey
1. AI Is the Game-Changer (But Readiness Is Lacking)
AI remains the most talked-about disruptor—and for good reason. The report identifies AI-related challenges (like training, integration and client expectations) as the top medium-term risk for the legal sector. Yet, despite this recognition, organizational readiness is still low. AI is too often treated as a future problem, delaying much-needed action today.
Top AI concern: Change management and training—not just tech implementation.
2. Mental Health Is a Rising Priority—Especially for Younger Lawyers
Mental health and wellbeing continue to gain attention. The survey reveals a generational divide: under-45s see it as the most pressing challenge over the next five years, while over-45s don’t place it as highly. Regardless, readiness remains lacking.
Key takeaway: Law firms must invest in mental health support now to retain top talent.
3. Talent and Profitability Remain Front and Center
The profession is feeling more confident about its ability to attract and retain talent—though it’s still a high-impact concern. Financial performance and profitability, meanwhile, have emerged as the number one short-term challenge, reflecting heightened economic pressures.
4. ESG & DE&I: Slipping Down the Agenda?
While ESG issues received less attention than in 2023, connected themes like diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) and climate impact are still gaining ground outside of the USA.
Firms appear better prepared than before, but the recent shift in focus in the USA raises questions about long-term ESG strategy.
5. Rule of Law: Still Overlooked
Challenges like access to justice and the independence of the profession have seen a drop in perceived impact—possibly because they lack a clear “owner” within organizations. However, political uncertainty (e.g., elections, legislative changes) is now drawing more attention due to its direct commercial relevance.
📊 Where Should the Sector Focus Now?
According to the Report, the following areas deserve immediate strategic attention:
AI Readiness: Training, change management, and ethical integration.
Mental Health: Especially as a generational priority.
Climate and Justice System Impact: Low on the radar now but rising fast.
🧭 The Bottom Line
The legal sector is at a crossroads. AI is reshaping the delivery of services, talent dynamics are shifting and clients are demanding more socially responsible practices. While the profession shows resilience and growing awareness, gaps between awareness and readiness remain significant.
The IBA’s White Paper offers a roadmap—not just for what’s changing, but for how to respond. The challenge for firms and legal institutions now is clear: prioritize smarter, act sooner, and build the capacity to adapt faster.
Want to dive deeper into the report? You can find the full 2024 White Paper on the International Bar Association’s website: www.ibanet.org
The recently published 2025 EY Law General Counsel Study reveals how corporate in-house legal departments are responding to major external disruptions—ranging from geopolitical instability and regulatory complexity to technological transformation—to drive confident innovation.
While these trends demand agility and modernisation in legal operations and risk management, internal barriers like budget limitations and resistance to change often slow progress.
📊 Key Findings
1. 🌐 Legal Teams Face Rising External Pressures
In-house legal departments identify three major disruptors shaping their strategies:
🌍 Geopolitical uncertainty (76%)
📜 Complex regulatory environments (75%)
💡 Rapid technology evolution (74%)
These factors are pushing legal teams to rethink their approaches to compliance, governance and operational efficiency.
📈 83% of legal departments expect budget increases in 2025.
However, 87% cite cost control as a top priority 💰
61% point to limited budgets as a significant hurdle in optimizing legal sourcing strategies 💼
🚀 Strategic Recommendations
1. 🧠 Gain Deeper Operational Insights
Engaging stakeholders and assessing operational maturity enhances planning and execution. Yet only 11% of departments conducted stakeholder interviews last year—an untapped opportunity.
2. 💵 Optimize Legal Spend and Increase Transparency
With only 24% completing recent spend assessments, legal departments should:
🔍 Analyze spend in detail
💳 Consider chargebacks
📊 Improve transparency and financial oversight
3. 🤝 Embrace a Diversified Legal Sourcing Model
To increase agility and expertise:
Legal teams are tapping into Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSPs) ⚖️
60% plan to increase ALSP usage in the next year ⏩
4. 🧑🏫 Invest in Legal Talent Development
With 64% prioritizing upskilling and reskilling, focus areas include:
🌱 Employee well-being
🧭 Career development
🎯 Talent retention
5. 📏 Align Risk Management Across the Enterprise
Fewer than 50% have a clearly defined risk governance model:
🤝 Cross-functional collaboration is essential
⚠️ Clear standards and risk tolerance must be established
6. 🤖 Leverage Legal Technology and Emerging Tools
While 75% aim to refine their legal tech strategies, only 25% prioritize Generative AI (GenAI):
📈 Opportunity to automate tasks like contract review and compliance
🧩 Build a tech roadmap that aligns with business goals
🏁 Conclusion
The 2025 EY Law General Counsel Study highlights the urgency for legal departments to adapt amid growing complexity.
By embracing innovation in sourcing, talent, tech, and governance, legal teams can build more agile, efficient, and future-proof operations.
Clio’s 2025 Legal Trends Report for Mid-Sized Law Firms provides a comprehensive look at how mid-sized law firms in the US are adapting to industry changes; particularly as it relates to AI adoption, billing models, client acquisition, and technology investments.
Although the results are based on data from US-based firms, the results are arguably applicable here in Australia and more broadly so here’s a summary of the key takeaways:
🚀 AI Adoption & Transformation
Mid-sized firms (20+ employees) are now leading AI adoption in legal tech, surpassing smaller firms.
93% of surveyed professionals in these firms use AI, with 51% using it widely or universally.
Common AI tools include legal research platforms, document automation, eDiscovery, and predictive legal analytics.
AI is viewed as a way to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve client engagement.
💰 Billing Models & Pricing Trends
Flat fees are now the most common billing method among mid-sized firms, outpacing hourly rates.
Firms are shifting away from hourly billing due to AI’s impact on time-based work and client preference for predictable pricing.
Subscription models are also gaining traction, especially for ongoing legal services to business clients.
Despite the shift, hourly billing remains prevalent, particularly with highly varied rates by role and experience.
📈 Client Acquisition & Marketing Strategies
Mid-sized firms use multiple marketing channels: websites, SEO consultants, social media, online reviews, and referrals.
They’re less reliant on referrals than smaller firms, but invest more in digital marketing.
Tools like e-signatures, intake forms, and online scheduling directly improve conversion rates and revenue (up to 20% higher).
Chatbots are underused despite 51% of clients finding them helpful—a missed opportunity.
💸 Spending & Technology Investments
Staff salaries dominate expenses (41%), followed by rent, marketing, and office costs.
Mid-sized firms spend less on office expenses (5%) than solo and smaller firms, due to economies of scale and flexible work arrangements.
Spending on software and professional fees is rising rapidly—showing a strong focus on tech and professional development.
☁️ Cloud Technology Adoption
Mid-sized firms lag behind smaller firms in cloud adoption (only 38% vs. 71%).
Firms with 20–49 employees are more likely to use cloud tools than larger mid-sized firms.
Hesitation around switching legacy systems or internal decision-making bottlenecks may be holding back adoption.
🧭 Strategic Takeaways
Mid-sized firms embracing AI + modern billing models + tech investments are poised to outpace competitors.
The real threat isn’t automation—it’s firms that adapt faster.
Cloud-based tools, client intake tech, and AI are critical for efficiency, growth, and client satisfaction.
The latest Law Society (England and Wales) Financial Benchmarking Survey has sparked significant discussion on social media today. The findings highlight some critical financial challenges for mid-sized law firms, particularly in terms of profitability, chargeable hours and cash flow management.
📊 Top 3 Key Findings:
1️⃣ Fee Earners’ Costs vs. Fees Charged
The median hourly cost of a fee earner (based on 1,100 chargeable hours) was £123.40, while the median hourly fees per fee earner stood at £133.01.
🔴 93% of fees earned are being used to cover costs, leaving minimal margin for profitability.
2️⃣ Shortfall in Chargeable Hours
The average recorded chargeable hours per fee earner increased slightly to 773 hours (up from 765 in 2023).
⚠️ However, this is still well below the 1,100-hour target—a shortfall of over 300 hours per year per lawyer.
3️⃣ Increase in Lock-Up Days
Year-end lock-up days (including work in progress and debtors) rose from 143 to 146 days.
This trend indicates longer cash flow cycles, which can put pressure on a firm’s financial stability.
🚨 What Should Law Firms Do?
These figures underscore the urgent need for better financial planning, sustainable profitability strategies, and operational efficiency. Some key focus areas include:
✔️ Improving revenue streams—exploring retainer-based models for better income predictability. ✔️ Enhancing productivity—have a robust and actionable business development plan for all lawyers! ✔️ Optimise cash flow—reduce lock-up days by streamlining billing and collections processes.
📢 Looking to bridge the 300+ hour gap per lawyer? Or interested in strategies for growing a profitable legal practice sustainably? Let’s talk! Get in touch today.
A recent article by BTI Consulting’s The Mad Clientist (‘Did Clients Just Go Sour on Rankings and Directories?’ published on 12 February 2025) states that:
Thought leadership now outweighs rankings – especially when forming new relationships.
While we talk often about “thought leadership” in professional services, I’m not entirely sure we understand the mechanics and actualities of what constitutes “thought leadership”.
For a start, if you say you’re a “thought leader” chances are you’re not – as only others can pin that tag on you!
So, I thought I would do quick run through what thought leadership means to me, as well as some ways you might be able to demonstrate your knowledge in such a way as others start to consider you a thought leader!
What is ‘Thought Leadership’?
Thought leadership is the art of positioning yourself, or your firm, as a leading authority in a particular area – industry or field – by sharing (typically for free) valuable insights, expertise, and innovative ideas.
Thought leaders influence their audience through content such as articles, blogs, speeches, books, research and social media engagement.
Key Aspects of Thought Leadership
Expertise & authority: Thought leaders have extensive knowledge in their field and are trusted sources of information.
Innovative thinking: Thought leaders challenge conventional wisdom and introduce new perspectives or solutions.
Content creation: Though leaders share insights through blogs, articles, whitepapers, podcasts, videos, or public speaking.
Engagement & influence: Thought leaders actively participate in discussions, mentor others and drive industry trends.
Authenticity & credibility: Genuine thought leaders prioritise value over self-promotion, building trust through consistency.
How can I display thought leadership?
Many professional firms limit their content strategy to publishing articles on their firm website and stopping there. While this is a good starting point, it doesn’t fully leverage the power of content marketing to attract, engage, and convert potential clients.
To expand your reach and establish your authority as a thought leader, consider adopting the following to your content marketing strategy:
Blog posts: Either via your own blog page or your firm’s (or even both), regularly provide in-depth insights, case studies, and industry updates. From time-to-time offer to guest post on other people’s blogs as well.
Newspaper comments and articles: Write a regular column in a reputable newspaper on your area of expertise. You can also become a source of commentary – newspapers are always seeking commentary from industry leaders.
Whitepapers & eBooks: Offer comprehensive research findings, legal guides, and thought leadership content. Look to position both yourself and/or your firm as the trusted authority in that area/field.
Videos: Create a YouTube or TikTok account and make videos that help explain intricate and complicated topics in a dynamic, accessible and easy to consume way.
Webinars & Live Streams: Host real-time discussions, Q&A sessions, and educational webinars – either on your website or via other platforms such as LinkedIn.
Podcasts: Either host your own podcast or provide expert insights on podcasts hosted by others.
Social Media posts: Engage in relevant discussions on platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Email Newsletters: Share valuable insights, firm updates, and case studies directly with subscribers via email providers such as MailChimp.
Bringing it all together
Thought leaders are recognised by others for their deep knowledge of a subject matter and so have the ability to shape conversations, influence decisions, and inspire others. These are all attributes that will help expand your audience reach and establish credibility in your area – leading to a higher number of requests for assistance and a bigger book of business!
Feel free to get in touch if you need help with your thought leadership strategy.
Having just posted yesterday on ‘Directory and Award Submissions‘, I thought it was somewhat timely that the team at BTI Consulting published the results of a survey they have conducted with over 350 corporate counsel which showed:
Only 4% still find rankings valuable
18% like them but aren’t strongly influenced
33% are ambivalent
45% express outright disinterest
Some of the commentary is just brilliant, including this gem:
When I was younger, my mother would often say to me: “Because it’s important to you Richard, doesn’t make it important to me“.
My mother had worked with lawyers earlier in her career, and I thought this piece of advice just profound (as you typically do with tidbits your mum says when growing up!). Until one day I was working with a partner who said exactly the same thing to me when I mentioned I had been waiting to see him all day!
So what’s the point I’m trying to make here?
Well, as with most things in life, when we think about what our clients need/want we think of this from the prospective of what we can provide them, rather what their true needs/wants are. To try and minimise this, I often ask my clients: “So What?“.
Asking “So What?” can sound abrasive. But, what it does is help to clarify the message, the reason, the rational we are sending to our clients about why they need our services/products and why they need them now.
And so I thought I would run through a high-level overview of the “So What?” test.
What is the “So What?” Test?
Being required to answer the “So What?” question is a means of evaluating the relevance and impact of your proposal/messaging to clients or prospective clients.
Answering this simple question demands clarity, purpose, and a focus on client outcomes – and helps move the narrative away from the product/service you are trying to sell.
If you are unable to answer this simple question convincingly, then your proposal almost certainly lacks relevance to the client and will not resonate with them.
Benefits of getting the right answer(s) to the “So What?” Test
Aligns your offer with the what the customer values
Asking the “So What?” question forces you to examine whether your solutions genuinely solve the customer’s problem(s). This alignment ensures you focus on outcomes that genuinely matter to your client.
Sharpens your messaging
In proposals and presentations, cluttered messaging dilutes impact. The “So What?” question helps eliminate unnecessary fluff and refines your message to its core purpose. Clear, concise messaging drives client engagement.
Helps build credibility
Proactively applying the “So What?” question puts you in the shoes of your client. You are able to anticipate their questions and build a solid case for your services/products. Demonstrating this level of critical thinking goes along way to establishing trust and credibility – it’s not about you, it’s about them!
Ultimately it saves you time!
Actively applying the “So What?” question acts as a filter to identify opportunities that are worth pursuing. If you can’t articulate why an initiative matters, it might not be worth the investment of time and resources pursuing that opportunity!
Bringing it all together…
The “So What?” test isn’t just a question – it’s a discipline. Asking the question allows you the opportunity to refine your message – to sharpen your focus, align your efforts, and ensure you’re solving the right problem, for the right person, with the right tools.
Incorporating the “So What?” test into your business development efforts will result in your business development activities becoming more impactful; your messaging more persuasive; and your win/loss ratio becoming more transformative!
As always, get in touch if you need help with your business development strategy and activities.
There are few more personal ways to thank a person for the support they have shown you and your business over the past 12 month than to send them a handwritten Christmas card.
Unlike e-cards, which to be honest I have never been a massive fan of (but can see both the financial and ecological savings if you are sending several hundred/thousand), a handwritten note in a Christmas card adds that personal touch to the message that, to me, enhances the gratitude being shown.
Some tips
If you’re going to send a handwritten note in a Christmas card to a key contact or referrer this year, make sure to:
Provide context: to why the card is being sent. For example: “it been a pleasure working with you over the past 12 months and we look forward to supporting you in the future”.
Personalise it: include a private note about something that happened this year.
Keep it professional: remember, it’s a Christmas card to a client/referrer, so be personal but keep it professional – no saucy joke cards you can find in some stores please!
Keep it brief: again, it’s professional, so keep it brief. The recipient of the card doesn’t have a lot of time to read this card and probably has a few more cards than just yours to read, so make sure to keep this to a couple of well-thought-out sentences at most.
The simple, relatively inexpensive, gesture of sending a handwritten Christmas card can leave a lasting impression on your client. It could well be the small differentiator that you are looking for to stand your business out from its competitors in 2025!
As always, get in touch if you need help with your business development strategy and activities.
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