Technology will replace lawyers in work preparation and delivery over the next decade as price competition increases and firms seek to deliver the same quality of service for less, a leading management consultant has predicted.


Delivering the keynote address at the annual conference of the Law Society's Law Management Section, Alan Hodgart, a partner at Kerma Partners, told delegates 80% of much legal work was capable of being automated, with only 20% needing the brain power of a lawyer.



He said clients have adopted a pragmatic approach to buying legal services and were aware that some legal work was not complex to a well-trained lawyer.



'They see many good lawyers from which to choose and little differentiation in peer groups, therefore price plays an important role in the buying decision. Salaries have increased and firms are still using lawyers to do work that could be done on a computer,' Mr Hodgart said. But he warned: 'Lawyers are no longer seen as anything special - clients are increasingly asking if the fee is worth it and often they'll answer "no".'



He said as clients were becoming increasingly relentless in their search for lower prices, firms will be continuously expected to cut costs without losing quality, and they will need to respond by adapting the ways in which they operate to ensure they remain profitable. He warned that firms which did not go down the technology route would not succeed, and pointed to the high street, where large warehouse operations were already being set up to handle personal injury and conveyancing cases.



Speaking at the event, Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson said there was an unstoppable force building greater competition and innovation, with an 'unrelenting pressure' on firms to do more for less.



Jonathan Gulliford, director of Co-operative Legal Services, said another challenge was for firms to provide the service clients wanted when they wanted it. 'Never ever take your eyes off the consumer, because without them, you don't have a business,' he added.



Catherine Baksi