Legal education: Perfect storm of circumstances finds the legal profession facing up to era of change

It's not a profession usually associated with innovation and change but the legal market is in a state of flux, buffeted on all sides by commercial pressures, policy reform and technological disruption.

“This is our version of the industrial revolution,” says Jackie Panter, associate head of the Law School at Manchester Metropolitan University. “It's the perfect storm of circumstances.”

One positive aspect of this revolution is “northshoring”, locating legal and back office services in northern cities to avoid the high costs of London real estate, salaries and transport. A number of companies have opened offices in Belfast while the northwest is growing its own hub of low-cost legal support providers: there was much excitement earlier this year when Magic Circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer signed a lease to take up 80,000 sq ft of office space in Salford.

US firm Latham & Watkins is opening a business services office in Manchester to support its growth in Europe. Rod Harrington, chief administrative officer for Europe at Latham & Watkins, says the Manchester centre will work in tandem with its existing service centre in the US to provide "follow the sun" support to its lawyers. "Manchester was chosen for a number of reasons, including the availability of talent and transport links to London and key cities in Europe and the US," he explains.

Other market trends are proving more challenging. Cuts to legal aid have hit hard in the areas of criminal justice, family and employment law: one lawyer notes with dismay the “slump in employment tribunals”. The Jackson reforms of the civil justice system have also reduced fee income for some law firms, particularly those where personal injury claims were something of a cash cow.

This contraction inevitably means less recruitment at the junior end. Jackie Panter says students are already considering the impact of these changes on their future career. “Ten years ago some of our most popular subjects at postgraduate level were criminal litigation and personal injury litigation but now only a handful elect to study those topics,” she says.

New doors are opening, however. The 2007 Legal Services Act allowed the creation of new legal entities, known as Alternative Business Structures, which has seen accountancy firms, insurance companies and even supermarkets enter the market. This means aspiring lawyers should be prepared to “think outside the traditional law firm box and consider who is really delivering legal services,” says Panter.

Further ahead, changes in the regulatory structure and educational provision promise further upheaval. Solicitor apprentices could earn-as-they-learn from 18, emerging five years later a qualified solicitor with no debt and embedded in a law firm.

But perhaps the most dramatic change will be technological. Some ABSs already offer online self-service legal services; the next step could draw on robotic process automation, artificial intelligence engines and sophisticated data analytics to create automated processes and basic decision-making. Where will this leave tomorrow's lawyer?