At any given time around the world, organisations, industries and even countries find themselves facing a number of influences that contribute to their evolution. For convenience, these influences can be categorised into political, environmental, economical, technological and societal factors. The legal profession has long met the demands of ‘survival of the fittest’ by reacting to changes as they develop. Some industry leaders are now identifying the need for law firms and others in the legal industry to more proactively anticipate the future and modify their practices to fully maintain or even build their competitive position in the market.
Knowing this, a group of legal and business thought leaders conducted a pioneering study of the global legal industry to identify the key trends and uncertainties likely to impact the legal profession over the next decade. The Legal Transformation Study: Your 2020 Vision of the Future, published by Decision Strategies International and Legal Research Center, resulted from scores of in-depth interviews conducted throughout 2007 and 2008 with senior partners at law firms, executives at corporate law departments and senior management at legal service supplier organisations.
