Whether large or small, government or private, in-house or in other contexts, the practice of law in its myriad forms will continue to evolve and adapt to rapidly changing environments. 

The future is unevenly distributed. Future trends are never uniform across sectors and countries. For example, in the case of global trade, the finance and technology industries have led the way in adopting technology, using it to establish global supply chains, and fostering a rate of innovation.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is impacting almost everything. Ever since Professor Larry Lessig wrote about "Code as Law," legal services providers have been designing, adopting, and implementing AI applications such as automated drafting, automated contracting, and e-conveyancing. There has been a rapid development of decision-making systems that make administrative decisions, hiring decisions, etc. Legal discovery, legal research, sentencing determination, and multiple administrative agency decision-making applications have been widely adopted. At the cutting edge, we see the planned development of experience robots learning to walk and talk like humans and interact with them. Indeed, in particular industries, as AI applications and machine learning head towards general intelligence, a large percentage of customer service is increasingly done by AI applications, and this trend will spread to legal services.

Doing more with less. Law firms are using modern technology and automation to do more with less. There is more workflow automation for routine work and a greater focus on bespoke services. While this is great for efficiency, it does mean that there are fewer entry-level tasks that can be done by junior lawyers and pressure on new grads to be able to add value from day 1 – more competition at the entry-level; high demand for experience and networks.

Changing demographics. Many reports have documented how COVID-19, lockdowns, and related developments have changed the nature of the workplace. More people are working from home; leadership in organizations is becoming flatter and more distributed; technology literacy skills are achieving much attention. Younger generations coming into law firms have different ideas about the nature of work. New biotechnology advances are expected to extend lifespans up to tenfold through emerging technologies such as CRISPR or Senolytics. Some forecast that anti-aging treatments may stop and even reverse the aging process so that anyone could get young and healthy again. Such changes will bring about significant changes in the length and nature of careers, including in law. 

Convergence of business, law, and other services. Law is losing its monopoly on the provision of legal services. Today, we see the rise of multi-discipline practices. In addition, competition has grown as accounting firms and other groups have sought to offer a full range of business-related services, including law. This movement was aided by the fact that self-imposed ethical codes restricting what lawyers can do resulted in a delayed uptake by law firms of new practice forms, services, and products suited to a digital environment.

Greater focus on prevention and legal "wellness." Just as our health care system has tended to focus more on sickness rather than wellness, many people only see a lawyer when they are in trouble. Increasingly, however, the focus is shifting to preventative practice, i.e., proactively using the law to plan, prepare and stay legally healthy.

New legal services and information products for new realities. The rise of an Information Age has resulted in a host of new products, new services, and new realities that have in turn given rise to whole new areas of law (e.g., laws governing semi-conductors, e-Sports, digital assets, new forms of intellectual property, domain names, cloud computing, etc.) This trend will likely accelerate given the rapid advancements in biotech, fintech, computing, AI, Internet of Things, and nanotechnology. A recent example is Facebook's "Metaverse." The metaverse seeks to create an immersive internet experience that will enable a person to replace or augment reality with computerized simulations that strive to be as realistic as possible. In this metaverse, individuals will be able to attend concerts, travel to distant places, virtually visit natural wonders, and shop for virtual clothes and goods that will exist in our virtual worlds. The possibilities are wide and complex. At the same time, allowing a few technology companies to have so much power, influence, and control of one's life and attention raises serious ethical and privacy concerns.

Law for non-lawyers assumes greater importance. As society and the legal system become increasingly complex, legal literacy on behalf of businesses, people, and individuals in society takes more significance. In response to this need, several law schools, universities, and even law firms and industry bodies have developed legal education for non-lawyers.

Searching for the best forms of governance. One of the most complicated issues facing legal systems in most countries is defining the role of government and the most appropriate model of governance that best serves the needs of society. In addition, media, technology, increased rates of change, greater complexity of systems, pandemics, and many other issues have created new challenges that require innovative, practical solutions that gain consensus and restore trust and confidence in the major institutions of society.

Continued growth of soft law and administrative lawmaking. Increasingly, laws and regulations are being made and applied at a bureaucratic level through rules, regulations, codes of conduct, standards, and other forms of control. This raises questions about what areas of activity governments should control and do well. Moreover, it questions the influence of powerful interests on government operation and the rule of law in society, and the relationships between citizens and between citizens and the state. Increasingly, these relationships will be created and managed virtually.

These trends have profound implications for legal education. They will impact what is taught, how, and whom. Above all, there will be the significant challenge of helping to develop law graduates, working with those from other disciplines, to evolve the moral and ethical understanding and wisdom to ensure that technology is used to improve society and individual lives steadily.

Eugene Clark is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.keyanhelp.cn/opinion/eugeneclark.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn.

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