Expert: Lawyer role to change
December 18, 2007
The role of the lawyer is set to change fundamentally in years to come, a leading academic has said.
"Challenging trends" in the marketplace will lead to lawyers taking up different kinds of roles within society, industry expert Richard Susskind wrote in the Times.
He predicted that legal advisers will become "less prominent" due to the general growth of information technology in the business world.
Simply put, the internet-driven increased accessibility of information will make provision of expert knowledge by lawyers - which Mr Susskind termed "cartel-like activity" - less valuable to corporate clients.
A positive side effect of such change would be the lessening likelihood of solicitor negligence claims, as the customer will have much easier access to expert advice, cutting out the need for a lawyer.
Mr Susskind added: "The market is increasingly unlikely to tolerate expensive lawyers for tasks (guiding, advising, drafting, researching, problem-solving and more) that can equally or better be discharged, directly or indirectly, by smart systems and processes.
"It follows that the jobs of many traditional lawyers will be substantially eroded and often eliminated."
Richard Susskind OBE works is the IT adviser to the Lord Chief Justice and works with several law firms.
He is also Emeritus Professor of Law at Gresham College in the Inns of Court.