Lexis Nexis
In a post Covid-19 World
The legal landscape is evolving, are you prepared for the changes?
The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation in the legal landscape. The rapidly changing landscape continues to challenge how the legal profession accesses information. This new environment makes every decision vital to your continued success. LexisNexis has partnered with the Law Society of South Africa to present the 2021 State of the Legal Industry Address, which unpacks key findings in our Legal Tech Report 2021. This comprehensive legal research provides a deeper understanding of the challenges facing the South African legal profession. South Africa has faced moments of civil unrest that have tested the strength of the rule of law. Therefore this important body of research examines what areas need to be strengthened to reaffirm the public’s trust.
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Aside from the global pandemic, the legal profession has also been impacted by technology. This can be seen in the practises of court work. Long gone are the days of paper-based information. As many practitioners look to the convenience of laptops, tablets, and other digital systems to source their information. This is just one of the findings in the extensive Legal Research Report that will be discussed at the 2021 State of the Legal Industry Address
As South Africa aims for a transformed legal space, the trends show room for deliberation and improvement:
- With close to thirteen thousand law firms in South Africa, only 3 quarters are considered small firms.
- White-owned law firms have regressed from 60% to 49%.
- Despite the decrease in white-owned firms, only 19% of firms are fully black owned.
- Female ownership in law firms now stands at 27%, an improvement from the 2016 report of 20%.
- 55% of respondents have either increased marketing investment or plan to in the coming years.
- The importance of networking is evident as 34% of respondents have increased networking and 27% have plans to develop their networks in the future.
- Civil procedure has pushed legal practitioners to adapt to this evolving legal system. With 34% of legal professionals feeling the negative effects in billings for civil procedure.
It is evident that the much-needed 2021 report yields interesting and important findings
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