Biglaw, Bloomberg, Technology

The Transforming Profession

New columnist Scott Mozarsky reflects on how globalization and technology are changing the legal profession.

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globe globalization world tech technologyEd. note: Please welcome our newest columnist, Scott Mozarsky of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg BNA.

The winds of change aren’t just blowing in the legal profession. They’re howling.

Take a couple of interesting stories from recent weeks. In one, labor and employment firm Jackson Lewis announced the launch of a data analytics practice group. The group, which includes statisticians as well as lawyers, will not only support the firm’s legal work (for example, providing damages estimates) but also help clients with non-legal projects such as determining their optimal headcount. In the second story, Eversheds and Atlanta-based Sutherland Asbill & Brennan announced a transatlantic merger to create a combined, global firm of 2,300 lawyers across 29 countries.

There is a level of familiarity to both pieces of news. Firms have been creating practice groups and executing mergers for decades, after all. But it does not take close inspection to realize that developments such as these are becoming more and more common. They reflect profound changes occurring at an increasingly rapid pace within the legal profession. Those changes are being driven by two forces in particular: technology and globalization.

Jackson Lewis’s new group is a great example of the ways that law firms are enhancing their legal services—and creating entirely new lines of business—through the use of cutting-edge technology and data analytics. Meanwhile, a merged Eversheds Sutherland will become the latest iteration of a breed of law firm that is still in the process of defining itself: the truly global firm with depth and breadth worldwide.

I’ve been lucky enough to experience the factors driving such exciting and disruptive change—the forces of globalization and technological advancement—at a close distance for my entire professional career. Long before I became President of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg BNA’s Legal Division in November, I spent my first years out of law school at two multinational law firms. Representing technology companies, among other clients, I spent part of that time doing cross-border transactions globally with a strong focus on inbound and outbound deals in Japan (where I lived after college) and China. I later moved to UBM, where as General Counsel of its Americas business and leading parts of PR Newswire and UBM Tech, I saw the transformative power of technology and globalization affecting a wide range of industries from media to B2B technology and health care.

The legal profession, traditionally slow to embrace change, is experiencing rapid and meaningful change. The stories mentioned above are two of the latest examples of accelerating transformation in the legal industry. Major trends impacting the profession include:

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  • The use of analytics: While firms were not early adopters, many firms ultimately came around to using analytics to assist with functions such as billing and marketing. Now, through new tools including Bloomberg Law’s Litigation Analytics, law firms and in-house lawyers are embracing analytics as a major asset in strategic decisions, including where to file litigation and how to better estimate resource allocation and fees.
  • Workforce composition: Firms seeking to maximize production from attorneys and create flexible work options are innovating in the ways they compose their talent pools. The increased reliance on staff attorneys is an obvious way that law firms are leaving behind the era in which their lawyers fit into clear buckets as associates, counsel, or partners.
  • Expanding service offerings: Whether through investment, joint ventures, or organic builds, firms are beginning to offer subscription services to their clients and to act as publishers and data providers in order to create new revenue streams and differentiate themselves.
  • Client relationships: Analytics and advanced marketing tactics are making it easier for firms to win clients in the absence of the personal relationships that used to be the primary driver of new business. They are also making it easier for in-house counsel to make educated decisions on which firms to retain.

This column will be a space to watch, digest, and analyze the transformations occurring in these and many other areas within the legal profession. Such changes give rise to new opportunities, challenges, and patterns. Some lawyers with whom I have spoken view the significant transformation that the profession is going through, as well as transformative factors such as the introduction of tools built on artificial intelligence, as unsettling and disruptive. I don’t dismiss such concerns. But as I watch the profession transforming, I can’t help but be optimistic about its future and the numerous opportunities associated with globalization, technology, and analytics.

Howling winds can be scary, but they also make the journey that much more exciting. If you’re in the right boat, they can steer you in the right direction.

scott-mozarskyScott Mozarsky is President of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg BNA’s Legal Division. In this role, he is accountable for driving growth of Bloomberg BNA’s legal products, including its flagship Bloomberg Law platform. You can reach Scott by email at SMozarsky@bna.com and follow him on Twitter at @smozarsky.

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