The Indian
legal marketplace is witnessing rapid growth owing to the rising foriegn investment in the Indian market matched with multiple cross border tie ups of the Indian firms with the foreign entities. Further, the increasing legal complexities and penetration of the internet in the overall business operation is posing new possibilities; thereby calling for the legal aid and legal advice for a firm to align itself with the changing scenario. The legal market and the legal firms on the other hand are also immensely developing in their overall service delivery model. Starting with the massive induction of technology, today the legal firms of India are coming with new concepts like online dispute resolution, E-discovery and more.
With the evolving pattern of legal service delivery, in this article let's jump into two major trends that will shape the future of India's legal service market.
Specialized Legal service structure
Generally, when new industries emerge in the business world, the law closely follows them. So with the arrival of a multifaceted dimension of each segment, the industries are actively altering in order to identify strong future niches. As a result, research is being conducted on these businesses, and new laws are being shaped to bind the developments under the legal framework.
Few examples of interesting, upcoming areas of law that are much more narrowly focused than the traditional fields include: Internet and digital media, startup law, cyber security and privacy, technology patents and IP, healthcare.
In the prevalent circumstances, the concept of generalised legal service is coming to an end. As a result, the legal service market is increasingly tending towards more specialized and detailed legal aid that comprises in-depth assistance related to a particular field.
Technology leveraged model
Today, consumer demand is driving the commoditization of basic legal services. The market demands services that are simple to use, accessible, efficient, and economical. Regardless of the quality of the actual legal work, today's internet legal service providers are better at delivering these items than most lawyers.
By simplifying services and providing a plethora of free, immediately available legal self-help and information, the Internet has transformed the game. As these online alternatives improve their products and services, they will capture a larger proportion of the lower half of the market, the commoditization tendency will only intensify.
Wth the introduction of multiple novel legal technologies like E-signature and online legal marketplaces, the total concept of legal advice and service are going through a massive change.
On the other hand, the legal-tech companies are providing solutions to the legal firms to conduct their day-to-day tasks digitally. This legal solution aids legal professionals in the management of client relationships, critical documents, cases, and much more.
However, talking about the future, for the majority of the legal firm the situation is not going to be easy in terms of growth and expansion. With a persistent inflexible working approach and data vulnerabilities, the future is filled with rough patches for the Law firms.
Data Vulnerability
Today, the legal firms assisting the corporate clients possess a bunch of confidential data of the client firms. This information being sensitive needs to be protected and safeguarded from data breaches and cyberthreats.
However, according to a recent market study, more than 25% of the law firms have been subjected to data breaches at some point.
The situations like Data breach not only terrorizes the coorporate firms but also gives the legal industry a setback in terms of reliability and effectiveness.
Brain Drain
A study titled “Liberalisation of Indian Legal Services: Politics and Challenges” by Amanpreet Chhina, University of Oxford finds “Brain Drain” to be one of the most daunting challenges that can evolve to be a major hurdle for the Indian legal segment in the coming days.
As per the research, “The legal segment of India is losing its best talent to foreign law firms based in Singapore, Hong Kong and other countries, where again they may have been advising clients on transactions with India. Many international law firms such as Linklaters, Clifford Chance, Allen and Overy and Jones Day recruit Indian law graduates, either as partners, associates or trainees in their branch offices in Singapore and Hong Kong, resulting in a ‘brain drain’ from India.”
To Conclude
Many challenges lie ahead for the Indian legal sector in the days coming ahead. To meet the growing challenges of the BCI, the Indian government and the Indian legal firms need to develop a robust structure to promote liberalization and open mindset in the legal segment. The industry needs to vest much interest in upgrading themselves into the newer and more protected technologies to overcome the persistent issues.
