5 Top Challenges Faced By Lawyers Around The World

Not very long ago the legal profession was quite a lucrative career option. Students spent huge amount of money to study law, and many would take loans to pursue their passion. They thought that once they completed their studies and became licensed to practice they would be able to repay their loans in quick time. However, being a lawyer is quite challenging and also, the profession have always been very competitive. But, with the infiltration of technology and the way law is practiced these days it has become even more challenging and competitive. It is a global phenomenon and the best corporate law firms in India are also feeling the pinch. There are several reasons for the changed atmosphere where the legal profession has become far more challenging these days. In this article we will discuss the major challenges faced by the legal professionals.

Long Work Hours

When lawyers start their careers, they are aware that they would be required to work long hours. However, what they don’t realize is that the long hours they put into their work take a toll on them as well as people around them. They begin to miss family functions and their social life is curtailed as they find themselves consumed in paperwork. The sacrifices they make do benefit their clients, but their personal life takes a massive hit. It becomes difficult to maintain work-life balance.

Stress

The long work hours take a toll on you and you start feeling stressed out. Additionally, the pressure to perform further aggravates the situation. Though the pressure to perform and excel is there in every profession, it is more so in the legal profession. Working under stress may lead to mistakes which can cause your clients dearly. This, in turn, can dent your reputation and you may start losing clients. Being only human, you are likely to feel bad about losing a case because of your mistake, and that causes further stress. It is a big challenge working long hours and that too under lot of stress.

Technology

The advent of new technologies and large scale infiltration of the internet has made life easier for us on one hand, and at the same time thrown up new challenges for all of us. The internet has changed the way businesses operate. With so much information available on the internet, client expectations have increased considerably. With the click of a button, clients get legal information in seconds. As such, potential clients expect their attorneys to be more proactive in finding ways to resolve their problems. Clients do their own research before approaching an attorney. This has changed the way lawyers deal with their clients. Also, with so much legal information available on the internet for free, it is taking jobs away from lawyers. Many companies are leveraging technology to accomplish task themselves, which they otherwise would have hired an attorney to assist them. The best merger and acquisition firms in India are finding it difficult to retain their clients. However, lawyers can adapt to these new technologies and enhance their skill set to remain relevant and competitive.

Low-Cost Legal Service Providers

With the advancement in technology, there has been a mushrooming of low cost legal service providers. There are end numbers of such legal service providers that offers great proposition to potential clients in monetary terms. These service providers have forced traditional law practitioners to rethink their pricing strategy. Clients are now able to get the same level of service, if not better, at a much lower cost than what they would otherwise have to pay to an attorney. With so many online service providers, clients feel empowered, and they wield more bargaining power. They can convince an attorney to alter their terms and condition to their advantage. This puts enormous strain on the attorneys.

To cite an example of the influence of legal service providers, LegalZoom, declared revenues of $156 million with a profit margin of $12 million in 2011

An Increasingly Competitive Job Market

The demand for people with thorough understanding of the law will always be there, and not just those who have basic knowledge of the law and understands its complexities. However, the truth is that the legal job market has become highly competitive. There are many reasons for this. One reason, as explained above, is the advent of new technologies and the cropping up of hundreds and thousands of online legal service providers. Another more significant reason is the sheer number of people graduating from law schools. Lawyer density has significantly increased over the years, and the supply of lawyers far outstrips the demand for lawyers. As a result, many fresh law graduates find it difficult to get work.

This article is created by AhlawatAssociates - Best place for hire outside general counsel services in India.

Michael Brown is an experienced law marketing specialist working with Ahlawat & Associates (expert mergers and acquisition lawyers).