Understand the trends that are influencing the legal profession and law firms in London

 

Brexit could or will put influence on the legal mentions leading numbers of regions from environment and immigration to intellectual property and finance. Law firms in London are found to be in huge demand to describe to clients in all these areas what’s going on; indeed some have said wryly that the only people who will benefit from Brexit are lawyers and consultants.

At the moment there is one overriding theme to the guidance lawyers are preaching – “the real challenge Brexit presents is simply uncertainty.” The training partner of a national firm included: “Brexit is fuelling opportunities for lawyers in the short term because businesses are seeking advice on what it will look like.” This demand for advice will soar as Brexit negotiations continue and the shape of Britain’s future relationship with the EU forms.

A key domain of the economy – and legal practice – influenced by Brexit is financial services. The topmost issue is whether UK-based firms will retain their passport; rights to trade in the EU post-Brexit. At the time of writing in summer 2017, the reply to this question is no precise than a year ago, but a pattern has already started for banks moving jobs abroad to cities like Dublin and Paris.

So has the Brexit vote been bad news for the economy as foretold? The signs are varied. One managing partner told us of “a primary decrease in work after the referendum results when businesses and  investors rested on their hands for a long time and thought I have to process this and work out what it means.” The training partner of a City firm was more upbeat: “After the result, lots of people had prophesied doom and gloom, but the markets and our clients adjusted very quickly to the reality that we are going to leave the EU and want to focus on making sure there are no major hitches in deal activity.” The economic indicators are assorted too: GDP was up 0.2% in the first quarter of 2017 and 0.3% in the second, but growth is slower than envisaged, slower than in 2016, and slower than in the rest of the EU. The construction and manufacturing sectors are predominantly jittery while services and tech are doing better.

Some law firms in London have hopefulness emerging from a rising presence overseas which they feel will help coast up any blunders in the UK – that’s awesome for the firms, but not much ease to trainees and other employees in Britain if jobs are moved abroad. National firm Pin sent Masons have already setup shop in Dublin explicitly because of Brexit, and notoriously conservative US firm Sullivan & Cromwell has opened an office in Brussels to complement its London presence.

Since the recession law firms in London have learned to do more with less. With tighter budgets, clients are demanding better value for money. They are no longer willing to pay for a junior lawyer to sit in a room photocopying if a low-cost alternative can do the same for peanuts. New technology and outsourcing are also hitting demand for trainees, with roles outsourced abroad or to low-cost parts of the UK and AI being used to do ordinary tasks. Expect to hear more about the role of AI in the profession: the prognosis is that the lawyer’s role will be less about drafting and more about their judgment, experience and business advice.