Wolters Kluwer 2023 Future Ready Lawyer Survey: industry embraces
generative AI, but is not yet very prepared for ESG demands
PRESS RELEASE
Wolters Kluwer 2023 Future Ready Lawyer
Survey: industry embraces generative AI, but is not yet very
prepared for ESG demands
- 73% of lawyers expect to be integrating generative AI into
their legal work
- 69% of law firms and 61% of legal departments are not yet very
prepared to meet growing ESG demands
- 87% of legal professionals say that technology has improved
their day-to-day work
- 43% of legal organizations still have no formal DEIB policies
in place
Alphen aan den Rijn – November 8, 2023 –
Wolters Kluwer, a global leader in professional information,
software solutions, and services, has released the results of its
global Future Ready Lawyer Survey 2023. Key findings portray a
legal industry that is boldly embracing seismic innovations, such
as generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), while continuing
efforts to deploy specialized legal technology solutions that can
improve their day-to-day work. This is all while law firms and
corporate legal departments contend with the changes required to
service crucial Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) needs
and attract and retain the talents of a future-ready workforce.
“Even in a world increasingly impacted by ChatGPT and other
forms of AI, the legal profession continues to derive its strength
from human relationships,” said Martin O’Malley, CEO, Wolters
Kluwer Legal & Regulatory. “Still, the 2023 Future Ready Lawyer
Survey suggests that lawyers are acknowledging the pivotal role of
technology in creating more value for their organizations and for
society as a whole. This is an essential development for the legal
industry. With legal professionals facing the challenge of an
ever-growing volume and complexity of legal and regulatory
requirements, technology is playing an increasingly important role
in their daily work. Whether it’s improving collaboration,
cementing relationships, or improving workflows, technology is at
the heart of driving the entire industry into the future.”
Approaching generative AI with confidence
Attorneys have only just begun embracing generative AI (GenAI).
A sizable 73% of the lawyers polled in this year’s Future Ready
Lawyer Survey expect to integrate GenAI in their legal work within
the next year. Many respondents appear poised to greet this latest
technological development with confidence – 68% indicated that they
feel prepared for GenAI’s impact while 73% said that they
understand how it can be applied to their work. Despite this, there
seems to be no consensus among lawyers about whether they see GenAI
as an opportunity or a threat. Almost half of the surveyed lawyers
(43%) see GenAI as an opportunity, one in four (25%) see it as a
threat and 26% see it as both an opportunity and a threat.
ESG preparedness not yet at required level
While the majority of law firms (68%) have established dedicated
ESG practices within the last three years, both law firms and
corporate legal departments still have plenty of work ahead of them
to meet the heightened demand for ESG-related legal expertise and
guidance that has continued to rise steadily over the last two
years. According to the survey, 69% of law firms and 61% of
corporate legal departments say they are not yet very prepared to
fully deliver against expectations in the area of ESG.
Nevertheless, ESG remains an important strategic growth area, with
half of the attorneys surveyed (50%) expecting demand [from clients
for ESG legal services] to increase, and 45% expecting demand to
stay the same (up from 36% in 2022).
Lawyers pressured to expand technology use
Technology has become firmly established as part of the legal
profession, with almost all attorneys (87%) saying that technology
has improved their day-to-day work. Still, less than half of them
(46%), believe they are fully leveraging technology, 50% are
transitioning and 4% feel they are not leveraging tech as much as
they should. Meanwhile, lawyers continue to face pressure to expand
their investment in and use of technology in the face of client
demands. Almost half of law firms (46%) rank the need to use
technology to improve productivity and efficiency as a top need to
meet client demands, as well as improve collaboration and work
processes. Lawyers from both law firms (85%) and corporate legal
departments (84%) also expect to make greater use of technology
that improves productivity.
Finding and serving a future-ready
workforce
The difficulty of attracting the right people for the right role
seems likely to become a major obstacle to tackling heavy workloads
and productivity demands. A vast majority (81%) of lawyers from
both law firms and corporate legal departments see their ability to
recruit and retain talent as a key area of focus moving forward.
Still, most (80%) say they’re ready to navigate recruitment
demands. Among the most pressing demands from talent – 89% of
lawyers say it’s important to have technology that supports their
ability to work remotely. Technology aside, the nature of the work
itself appears to be changing as well, with most lawyers (78%) from
both law firms and legal departments expecting an increased demand
for specialization and a decline in generalist work. The stakes are
high: Law firm respondents cited specialization as one of the
factors clients will use to evaluate their outside counsel in the
next three years. Fortunately, a majority of firms and corporations
(75%) say they are prepared to offer greater specialization to
clients.
Formal DEIB plans still a work-in-progress
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Beloning (DEIB) rates low on
the list of workplace satisfaction indicators. Nevertheless, the
survey finds that most legal professionals (88%) are satisfied with
their employer’s efforts to create a diverse workforce and culture.
Additionally, a high percentage of lawyers (82%) work for
organizations that claim to have successfully created a diverse and
inclusive environment. However, those sentiments don’t necessarily
reflect a more formalized approach to promoting DEIB. Only 55% of
law firms and corporate legal departments surveyed currently have
formal Diversity, Equity Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) policies in
place. Timing varies among firms and legal departments who are
still firmly in the planning stage of their DEIB policy
implementations, with 22% saying they plan to implement a formal
policy in the next 12 months, and 15% targeting “the next few
years.”
International perspectives
Generative AI and ChatGPT may be global phenomenons, but the
survey indicates that views continue to vary from country to
country. More lawyers in the Netherlands (65%) appear to be
convinced about the benefits of GenAI than legal professionals in
the U.S. (46%), Belgium (38%) and France (20%). Additionally,
professionals from the Netherlands are most likely to see GenAI as
an opportunity (65%) while also seeming to have the greatest
understanding of how this technology applies to their work (89%) –
a sentiment that is also shared by 80% of U.S. legal professionals.
Both countries also indicate a rise in demand for ESG guidance in
the past year, and the majority have DEIB policies in place.
Meanwhile, Belgium, France and Hungary each score below 40% when it
comes to having DEIB policies in place.
About the surveyWolters Kluwer’s 2023 Future
Ready Lawyer Survey includes insights from 700 lawyers in law
firms, corporate legal departments and business services firms
across in the U.S., the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain,
Hungary, Italy, Poland and Belgium. Now in its fifth year, the
survey continues to examine how client expectations, technology,
and market trends are affecting the future of the legal profession
and how legal organizations are prepared to address these
challenges.
About Wolters Kluwer Wolters Kluwer (EURONEXT:
WKL) is a global leader in information, software, and services for
professionals in healthcare, tax and accounting, financial and
corporate compliance, legal and regulatory, and corporate
performance and ESG. We help our customers make critical decisions
every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain
knowledge with specialized technology and services.
Wolters Kluwer reported 2022 annual revenues of €5.5 billion.
The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains
operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 20,900
people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den
Rijn, the Netherlands.
For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com, follow
us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Paul LyonSenior Director, External Communications,Global
Branding & CommunicationsWolters KluwerOffice: +44 20 3197
6586Email: Paul.Lyon@wolterskluwer.com
Frank ReadySenior Specialist, External Communications Legal
& RegulatoryWolters KluwerOffice: 717-205-3647Email:
Frank.Ready@wolterskluwer.com
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- 2023.11.08 Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyer Press
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