Careers in the legal industry have evolved a great deal in recent years. This includes the practice of law, legal technology, and the business of law.
Having worked in this industry for more than 25 years, I’ve watched this evolution up close. And I’ve been privileged to share my perspective last month on careers throughout the “business of law” for students at New York Law School. For anyone interested in working in the legal market, it’s important to understand today’s new and different career paths.
The modern legal ecosystem includes not just law firms and corporate legal departments, but an array of consulting firms, service providers and legal technology companies.
In addition to smaller alternative legal service providers, law firms, especially big law, face increasing competition from the Big 4. The world’s largest accounting firms – Deloitte, EY, PwC and KPMG – formerly focused strictly on the numbers, but today they offer a broader range of professional services. Deloitte for example says it is now “one of the world’s largest providers of legal business services,” with professionals in the areas of legal, tax, consulting and financial advisory working together to deliver coordinated services.
A growing number of law firms are also following pioneers like Morgan Lewis, which established its dedicated data practice eData in 2004, by instituting their own subsidiaries and innovation teams to deliver a range of technology and other services in-house. Thirty-five of the Am Law 100 now have legal tech subsidiaries, including Gravity Stack, a technology-driven company that originated inside of Reed Smith LLP. Other firms with dedicated innovation teams include Simpson Thacher, Orrick and Dentons.
Firms are also focusing more than ever on the business of law, creating a variety of opportunities for people with business and related backgrounds who are interested in careers in the legal industry. It’s also not uncommon to meet lawyers who have earned their MBA in addition to their J.D., as new positions continue to be created that allow them to leverage skills in both areas.
Along with those forces, corporate legal operations departments are driving innovation within their organizations and with their outside counsel. “Legal Operations” essentially describes a set of business processes and activities and the professionals who enable in-house legal departments to serve their clients more effectively by applying business and technical practices to the delivery of legal services. Legal operations provide the strategic planning, financial management, project management and technology expertise that allow legal professionals to stay focused on providing legal advice.
It really is a great time to be part of the legal industry, and particularly legal tech, as growth is occurring throughout the ecosystem. New investment is sparking new opportunities for professionals at every level.
-Chris Egan