Q&A: Penelope Barr, Head of Legal Tech Product Lab, Allens LinkLaters

The way that legal services are delivered is fast changing due to advances in technology and business model innovation. This is resulting in a gradual shift towards affordable, standardised services and efficiencies in how law firms deliver services. We interviewed thought leaders on the changing legal industry, emerging technologies impacting the sector, factors holding law firms back and what the future lawyer looks like.

Here is our interview with Penelope Barr the Head of Legal Tech Product Lab at Allens LinkLaters.

WHERE DO YOU SEE THE LEGAL INDUSTRY IN 5 YEARS?

Like many industries before it, law is undergoing a transformation. Clients are seeking more from their service providers and are increasingly curious, cost-conscious and requesting more transparency around value-based outcomes. Technology is a key enabler of this transformation.

The next 5 years will see the beginnings of substantive change, with legaltech playing a greater role in a lawyer's kitbag, alleviating time and making space for higher order activities. Legaltech may be a component of a firm's technology offering; or delivered via standalone startups or in partnership with big law or inhouse teams. Lawyer and client experience will improve because repetitive, burdensome processes are increasingly being automated; meaning lawyers can devote more of their energies to their client issues.

Legislation around computing will increase, driven by the risk equations society is asking lawyers to be part of. Until fairly recently, technology has been moving faster than law and laws have been having to catch up to progresses and use cases of technology, AI in everyday; or data usage etc.

In 5 years, the legal industry will have had more time (and need) to step in and start leading the conversation on what technology can do and should do. Increasingly, lawyers will be seen as society's check and balance on tech dos and don'ts and help clarify the current grey on data, privacy, ownership questions. 

WHICH EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES ARE YOU MOST EXCITED BY AND WHY?

I'm energised by the potential I'm seeing in legaltech startups. In 2020, I founded Auctus-Allens Legaltech Accelerator. We had 126 global legaltech startups apply around two problem areas.

I was impressed by the number, the breadth of ideas and scope of the change that's impacting law in a relatively short time. It feels like a groundswell of change is happening, with some legaltech players offering real opportunities for firms to augment their client offerings or become more productive internally.

Cloud, data management, security requirements, privacy management all remain as barriers but none of these are insurmountable; just areas for awareness and development.

WHAT IS CURRENTLY HOLDING LAW FIRMS BACK FROM INNOVATING?

Time, coupled with no compelling need to change, continue as core barriers to real innovation

breakthrough. Most lawyers in law firms are busy. Could they also be more effective and productive, especially if they were more open to the importance of learning and using innovative tools and techniques?

The innovator's dilemma is at play in some law firms – the constant decision making juggle of spending time on current client demands or taking time out to learn and integrate new innovation tools and techniques that will, in general, support future needs.

This can be illustrated by the following short story –"A wood chopper was busy cutting down a tree.

The work was hard and he was making slow progress. A child walked by and said, 'Hello, your axe looks blunt. I could go to my house and ask my father to help you sharpen it?' The woodchopper said 'I'm too busy to stop, I need to fell this tree by nightfall' He kept chopping, for a long time, getting very tired."

Do we have the right tools for the job, in the best conditions? Do we know where to go for help?

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WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LAWYER LOOK LIKE?

As we've seen other industries evolve, so too I'm hopeful we'll see the future lawyer evolve into one where the fundamental building blocks of substantive IQ and legal expertise are supported by growing EQ, to enable greater cross-pollination of ideas and skill-sharing across a firm; CX for more effective engagement with clients, to help clients see around corners; and TX (technology experience and new ways of working awareness) meaning lawyers reflect on better ways to define and deliver value; and work on higher order goals.

More Future lawyers may freelance, connecting globally on areas of expertise; connecting with clients on the basis of their own consulting skills and reputation rather than a firm's. If we think about what's

happened in other industries, the path law is currently following to better manage today's technology challenges isn't that different to other points in history. Future lawyers will be doing for an exciting technology environment of seemingly endless possibility, what lawyers in the past did in enabling fairer conditions as the world rushed to industrialise.

Lawyers helped provide governance and guidance on child safety laws and compliance in factories as the world rushed to advance; and the future lawyer will be called on to do the same on issues such as accountability around AI 'errors, accidents, bias'; or data leakage; cyber crime; the value or privacy and how to protect it etc.

Technologists are not necessarily going to stop themselves, it's up to the rest of society to place limits on what can and cannot be done and what we is deemed acceptable risk in an everyday equation. Lawyers are the arbiters of these guidelines and governance; of what's 'right' or 'more right'. In order to occupy this role, however, lawyers need to augment their foundational skills with greater digital and technology awareness; and support their expertise with a greater breadth of business, communication, analysis and commercial skills.

The role of the future lawyer is going to be really important in keeping abreast of the changing digital and technology landscape

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To find out what 14 other thought leaders had to say on the future of legal services, download the full 21st Century Lawyer report at www.newlawacademy.com/report