5 Future Lawyers

Legal futurist Richard Susskind posits that the “streamlined and technology-based” 21^st Century will feature 5 types of lawyers:

1.     "Expert trusted adviser." The familiar provider of (increasingly rare) bespoke legal service.

2.     "Enhanced practitioner." Supports the delivery of commoditized legal services. (“The crucial point here, though, is that the market will only tolerate this lawyer's involvement where legal experience is genuinely needed.”)

3.     "Legal knowledge engineer." Organizes the legal content and processes that will be distilled into standard working practices and computer systems.  (“It will be a central occupation for tomorrow's lawyers.”)

4.     "Legal risk manager." Helps clients identify and control legal risks.  (“In some ways more like a form of strategy consulting.”)

5.     “Legal hybrid.”  Combines legal practices with other disciplines, such as product management or management consulting. 

Susskind’s piece, in The Corporate Counselor, contains plenty of speculation about the legal market’s likely responses to ramped up client demands and disruptive technologies.

                                                    -posted by brian