Talent, workload, cost cutting – read the legal lab executive summary from HBR
In an environment where the only certainty is uncertainty, fatigue is inevitable. Legal organizations are—despite time-saving technologies—continuously grappling with workloads that threaten to outstrip their ability to keep pace. Law firms and law departments are looking for ways to cut costs in the face of inflation and a threatening recession while not compromising on the quality of the services they deliver. At the same time, technology continually shifts what the workday looks like for legal professionals across the board.
At the center of all of this change is talent: the people who are tirelessly serving their clients, defining organizational culture, and deciding what investments to make in technology and other tools to drive efficiency. As law firms and law departments continue to transform in the post-pandemic era, they must also wrestle with key questions that will inevitably shape what the practice of law will look like in the future, such as:
- How can we best develop, engage, and retain our talent?
- How can we create additional capacity to provide legal services?
- How can we leverage technology to support law departments’ and law firms’ talent strategies?
At our eighth annual Legal Lab, leaders from the nation’s top law firms and law departments, meeting in person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, gamely grappled with these questions. At times they offered solutions, while at other times they raised new questions, as you will see in the following sections. Our discussions lay bare the truth that challenges and conflicts are inherent in the practice of law. The key to surmounting them is working together as a team.
Download the report in full here: http://www.legallab.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2022-Legal-Lab-Executive-Summary.pdf
