A Legal Roundup of 2024

The legal sector is an industry that has admittedly undergone lots of changes in the past year, and despite only being forecast to grow by a mere 2% in 2024, the industry has still experienced the presence of several themes and trends.

In this article, we will be delving into some of the most prominent themes, some advantageous and some rather challenging, that have shaped the 2024 legal landscape.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The term AI can be used to describe systems that are designed to replicate human cognitive functions, it is arguably one of the most integral technological developments in recent years. It accelerates procedural tasks, therefore retrieves time for higher level work that cannot necessarily be automated. In specific regard to the legal sector, AI can be implemented in automating routine risk and compliance tasks, for example, risk identification and the onboarding of clients.

Generative AI is a branch of AI that is constructed to create original content in response to prompts or requests. In the legal sector, a study conducted by the Thomson Reuters Institute highlighted that 82% of legal professionals believe that generative AI can be used in legal work, however only 51% felt that it should be used in legal work. The reason behind this being that individuals are hesitant as to whether they can trust the current AI systems to deliver accurate products of legal work.

Evidently, whilst there are an abundance of opportunities and favourable outcomes that are derived from AI systems, there are also, similarly to many other technological developments, some notable risk factors. Often AI systems unintentionally create works similar to existing copyrighted materials, and since traditional copyright laws require a human author to establish ownership of copyrighted materials, it can be difficult to hold AI works as liable for instances of infringement. Therefore, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act considers the individual responsible for arranging the AI’s operation as the author. Additionally, there is always the chance of AI being used destructively in assisting criminal activity or creating inaccurate results, influencing the quality of materials.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (EDI)

2024 has been a year with a concentrated focus on DEI. The 2024 DEI report discloses a legal sector in transition, making great progress in fostering a culture of equality, diversity and inclusion, however still facing persistent challenges in doing so. Currently 71.2% of organisations have formalised DEI strategies, yet despite this figure, only 24.4% of legal leaders feel truly empowered to implement these strategies.

Diversity in law firms is continuing to improve year on year, with smaller firms being acknowledged as more diverse than larger organisations. In 2023, it was reported that the proportion of minority ethnic lawyers was 19%, whilst this figure is continually rising there is still a long way to go. At present in the UK, 53% of lawyers are women, a substantial proportion of the workforce, however, the seniority gap for women remains with only 32% of full-equity partners being women. Whilst diversity has been a prominent theme in the legal sector for the past few years, the representation of persons with disabilities is still something yet to be improved. Disabled lawyers only make up 6% of the UK workforce, compared to the 16% of the working population who are registered as having a disability.

Many alternative schemes are being implemented to promote DEI, for example DWF runs an Ethnic Minority Access Scheme, which they developed in correspondence with the Aspiring Solicitors network. Enabling six individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds to gain a week of beneficial, paid work experience at the firms London or Manchester office. It is almost certain that more schemes like this will continue to emerge as we head into 2025.

Environmental Social Governance (ESG)

8 in 10 law firms have either a dedicated ESG practice group or an integrated team from multiple practice groups to respond to client demand relating to ESG, according to the International Bar Association. It is definitely an area of increasing importance for firms due to changing societal and governmental expectations.

43% of firms actively monitor and prepare for environmental, social and governance developments for their own operations.

Cybersecurity

This year has seen many legal firms face various cyber threats, a concern that is not forecast to improve as we enter into 2025. Such threats have included: phishing attacks, ransomware, data breaches and insider threats. These attacks can unsurprisingly disrupt the operations of a firm, lead to financial loss and damage a firm’s reputation, due to clients fearing for the anonymity and security of their data.

 Ransomware is expected to continue into 2025, with ransomware groups predicted to further heighten the sophistication of their techniques. Therefore, it can be recommended that firms remain extra vigilant and exert a focus on the strength of their data security.

Remote Working

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, all industries, including the legal sector, have witnessed a rise in remote working. In the UK, this has been a particularly prevalent issue since the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 came into force on 6th April 2024, meaning that employees can now make a statutory request to make permanent changes to their contract from their first day of employment.

In consideration of this, remote working can create many challenges in maintaining or building a positive culture and keeping staff engaged with the firms’ values. Therefore, we may witness an increase in initiatives aiming to encourage legal professionals to come into the office more frequently as we enter 2025.

2024 has been a year of change in the legal sector, lots of changes that go beyond those mentioned in this article. Many of these trends and themes are expected to continue as we enter 2025, the significant transformation that the industry is undergoing, and rapid pace of technological advancement creates excitement as to what we can expect from the new year.