Looking at how the profession has changed, perhaps it is time to ask why lawyers now need to be more than just technically competent in their substantive law and practice. Why should they sharpen up on management, marketing and financial skills?
Just 10 years ago, lawyers did not need any new-fangled skills. You completed your law degree, swotted through part two, became an articled clerk in a firm and after two years emerged as a fully-fledged lawyer. If your face fitted, you got on and became a partner. When you retired – after a comfortable, but frankly not hugely well-paid, career – you took out a fat wedge of capital that funded your retirement.
