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What will the practice of law look like twenty years from now? With my own twenty-fifth reunion coming up this spring, I started thinking about how our professional lives might change over the next few decades. At first, I considered contacting all of the gray hairs, speakers, writers, thinkers . . . people on the front lines of change in the past. Then I got a better idea. “What do young lawyers and law students think the future holds for the profession? Great changes or more of the same. So, I asked Aman Bagga, our Young Lawyer’s Division representative, and Marisa Davies, our Law Student Division representative, to round up a few of their friends for this next-generation roundtable.

Virtual firms, internationalization, the end of the billable hour, cutting-edge technology? I asked our panel how things might change and what will likely stay the same? Interested? Some of their answers might surprise you. Read on to see.

The Participants:

Lalitha Alladi is a second-year law student at Stetson University College of Law.
Aman Bagga is a Tax Consultant in the Transaction Advisory Services group at Ernst & Young LLP.
Andrew Chiang is a second-year law student at Stetson University College of Law.
Vadim Daynovsky is a second year associate in the corporate department of Chadbourne & Parke LLP.
Marisa Davies is a third-year law student at Stetson University College of Law.
Ashley Gay is a second-year law student at Stetson University College of Law.
Jonathan Goldstein is a first year associate with Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy.
Alyssa Honickman is a second-year law student at Stetson University College of Law.
Mark Khmelnitskiy recently graduated from Fordham School of Law.
Victor Levy is a first year associate in the corporate department at Clifford Chance US LLP.
Katherine Scovin is a first year associate at Seward & Kissel LLP.
Alexis Wert is a second-year law student at Stetson University College of Law.

The Questions

1. What will be most different aspect about the practice of law twenty years from now? Why?

Gay The most different aspect of law will more than likely be the use of technology. In recent years, the advancement of technology (use of computers, digital aids, etc.) has dramatically increased. In coming years, it is likely that attorneys will rely on computers and other technological aids much more than they do now. The use of technology will more than likely invade the court room, allow for increased global communication, and permit attorneys to have contact with an even greater number attorneys.

Another aspect of technology in the legal profession will probably be lawyers heavy reliance upon the Internet for research. Today, people rely more on Internet databases (Westlaw and Lexis) for research than on books. In the future, more than likely books will be out-dated and Internet search engines will take over the mundane task of research.

Daynovsky Tort and other legal reforms will finally be enacted, taking some bite from America's litigiousness and thus from the practice of the P.I. attorneys. Also, an attorney will become even more of a marketer of his or her services, with financial pitches per each deal/litigation, auctions for the lowest bidder, etc. I also think that the sole practitioner will really not be able to compete as adequately with bigger firms, and so fewer of them will remain.

Scovin I think twenty years from now there will not be as much litigation. Parties will still disagree, but I think most disputes (even more than now) will settle outside the courtroom.

Levy I think that the growth in technology will allow menial services currently handled by lawyers to be done online by consumers themselves because it will be cheaper. For example, incorporating a business is something that someone usually hires a lawyer to do, but the lawyer usually does not do any of the work, all they do is outsource it. Things like this I think will in the future be done by cutting out the middleman lawyer.

Honickman I think that law practice will be more technological. Lawyers will be able to send documents much faster via technology and there will be less face time actually arguing in court.

Chiang Research will be the most different aspect of law twenty years from now. I remember one of my more senior professors telling a story about his wife typing his notes for him. He constantly hadto retype court documents and other papers because of errors. This is just one change that technology has made. Computerized research has enabled lawyers to access so many documents at their fingertips and the whole research and writing process is completely different than it was twenty years before. I have no doubt it will keep changing in the future.

2. Will the billable hour still be king in twenty years? If not, what will replace it?

Bagga The billable hour will still be prominent, but will not be the king it is today. I think clients will negotiate more fixed fee arrangements. This will benefit both the client and the lawyer who know upfront what the expected fee will be. Other professional organizations such as accounting firms are turning to this model for individual questions where the fee is capped at a certain amount.

Daynovsky The billing hour will still be around, but practically speaking it will be eclipsed by the different paying arrangements that each legal client will arrange for itself. I think that combination contingency/hourly systems will be very common (e.g., up to 200 hours to be billed, and after that only 1/4 of the reward, etc.). Contractual caps on legal bills will also become more common than they are now.

Davies The billable hour will still be king in twenty years because it is the number one source of revenue for firms. Although law firms collect large amounts of money with contingency fees, the billable hour is a constant, and I would think that it brings in more money than the contingency fees. Therefore, I don’t think that the firms in twenty years will stray too far away from the billable hour.

Alladi Yes. Billable hours will still be king in twenty years. A business is nothing without its clients, and I think billable hours is the most efficient way to bill because it makes sense in the following example: Where a client's problem is similar to another problem the lawyer/firm has worked with. Therefore, the lawyer has less work to do because a big chunk of research has already been done. One should be able to benefit from work already done to maintain an efficient firm.

Scovin I do not see the billable hour going anywhere. The only trend I can foresee is one where clients "employ" their lawyers and pay them a salary instead of a fee.

Levy Yes, as long as the structure of compensation remains as it is. I think on the whole everyone gets paid the same (for level associates) but it could change to a format where you negotiate your salary like almost everywhere else in America. But, I do not think that will happen, and even if it does it will only happen at the lower-tiered firms. The top tier firms hire the best talent and something like that will not sit well with those associates who generally have horizontal mobility in the workplace once they get a year or two of experience under their belt.

3. What will law firms look like in twenty years? Mega firms, virtual organizations, or what?

Honickman Law firms will be more virtual organizations. Lawyers from around the world will be able to partner up with other lawyers for purposes of litigating cases. This will be a great opportunity for lawyers to reach beyond the boundaries of their own country.

Levy I think the trend towards mega firms will only intensify, and it will do so within the next 5-8 years. I think once the corporate market picks up again firms will see how they could benefit from a global presences in major markets and how more efficient it is for them when the merger wave hits again. Not to toot my own horn, but I think my firm Clifford Chance is excellently positioned to be the first mover in that area and I firmly believe that, due to the increasingly global nature of corporate transaction, there is and will continue to be an advantage for a law firm to have a global presence.

Alladi Huge Mega firms. The pattern seems to be that firms are growing in size. I think they will keep growing and become more of a business where each lawyer will play more of an agent part for the firm than they will as individual lawyers with a separate reputation within the legal community.

Goldstein In twenty years law firms will look exactly as they do now. Lawyers, unfortunately are not very good businessmen. While the accountants and consultants are doing an excellent job branching out to other businesses, lawyers are staying stagnant in their business model. As a result they will remain exactly as is. The only difference is that most law firms will have developed a more extensive network of both national and international firms to work with. This is out of necessity, and not necessarily because they are proactive in their business approach.

The tools used by lawyers will not change in twenty years. Computer advancement has gone as far as it can to help lawyers.

Davies In twenty years law firms will likely look they way they do today, however, they might possibly have fewer people within the firms. I think that with the advancement of technology, such legal professionals, like paralegals, might be replaced with computer software. I think that the various small, medium, and large firms that exist today will still exist in twenty years, as the legal field is so diverse, and not every lawyer wants to practice in a huge mega firm.

Daynovsky Law firms will expand in size, on average, and will become even more international. I doubt they will exist solely "virtually," since law is such a hands-on, political, and social exercise at its core.

Bagga Law firms will follow the same path as banks where there are large international banks, regional banks, small community banks and virtual banks. Clients are different and their needs and expectations vary so law firms will cater to all types of clients.

For large firms, there will be an increase in law firm mergers. To service large international clients, law firms will try to be a one-stop shop. To do this they will need to expand, especially internationally, which will lead to international mergers. Even regional law firms will need to have some international presence and will partner with firms in countries where their clients want to conduct business.

Despite the increase in mergers, the small firm will not disappear. Just as some people prefer the personal touch of the community bank, some clients want personalized service from their law firm. In addition, as people get more comfortable with technology, there will be some firms that do their entire work electronically.

4. Will computers replace most of what lawyers do in twenty years? If so, how and what will be left for lawyers?

Honickman Yes, computers will replace lawyers. The computer will be able to take depositions and research certain cases with a click of a button.

Khmelnitskiy I don't think computers will replace the most valuable portion of what lawyers do, which is the analytical capacity to examine existing or potential claims and suggest solutions to address those claims. Lawyers will always be necessary because lawyers are trained in the "rules" of conducting legal affairs, and law schools are fairly efficient in engraving the adversarial mentality and ability to "think like a lawyer." Until a generation of students decides to change the existing system, lawyers will play an important consulting role.

As far as the role of technology, computers will strip lawyer's job to the bare minimum of analyzing, wording, negotiating, and other activities that currently require direct analytical capacities. I envision that contracts and wills will be drafted by clients, who will check-off provisions that apply to them, similarly to how people select properties of a desired vacuum cleaner. Technology will also make the flow of information much easier, which will lead to greater role of lawyers in reviewing, analyzing, protecting, and otherwise working with documents.

E-mail is already becoming a very sensitive subject, where very few laws and regulations have been developed and lawyers enter the unchartered waters of protecting and/or disclosing e-mail records. Technology will make it easier for lawyers to do their work, but add additional issues, for them to deal with.

Chiang I do not think computers will replace lawyers in the future. There are a lot of intangibles to the legal profession a computer simply cannot do. Just as it is difficult for an appellate court to understand all the dynamics of a case through the transcripts, there are certain things lawyers as people will always contribute to the process that cannot be replaced by computers. In fact, I think computers have made the lawyer's job more efficient. Although researching through books is just as important as researching through the computer, the computer has made research much more efficient. It is easier to go through many different sources on your screen than to lug around eight different books on your subject matter.

Alladi I think that computer programs will replace tedious document creation. I expect programs to be created where once the lawyer types in certain crucial information, it will automatically draw up a contract. However, that will not, and should not, eliminate the work the lawyer must do looking over the complete document to make sure mistakes have not been made by the program (as every computer program has its mistakes.

Bagga Lawyers will not be replaced, but their duties will change. Instead of the lawyer doing all of the work, clients will increasingly do some of the preparations using computers. Lawyers will still be needed to make sure everything is done correctly and no issues are missed.

Daynovsky No, computers will not make that much impact as far as replacing human legal thought. Reasoning and offering sensitive solutions to a client’s real problems is solely within the purview of the human mind. The computer will, however, play a bigger role than now. It will be able to evaluate a few distinct possibilities/alternatives that are arrived at and fed into the computer by a human.

Levy Maybe in the lowest segments of the legal services market, where there really is not a need for a lawyer due to the mundane nature of the transactions

Davies I do not think that computers will replace lawyers. However, I do believe that they might replace some of the firm staff, such as paralegals. Although computers helped in the advancement of the legal field, I do not believe that they will ever replace lawyers. For one thing, people still like to have human contact with others, and also, not everyone puts absolute faith in technology, because there is always that chance that something will go wrong. Also, I do not think that it would be good practice of the firms in the future to replace lawyers with computers. Being a lawyer is about networking and meeting people, and obviously a computer cannot do such things, therefore, cannot help bring in business for the firm.

5. Will the trend toward internationalization of law firms increase over the next twenty years? Will it engulf even the small firms?

Wert I definitely see the internationalization of law firms increasing over the next twenty years. It will either engulf the small law firms or put them out of business. I think it will become sink or swim for most law firms over the next twenty years. When it does happen the law school curriculum will have to change so lawyers are trained with the appropriate skill and knowledge required to practice law internationally.

Chiang As far as internationalization of law firms is concerned, the only thing that I can see changing is the requirement of multilingual lawyers. Americans can no longer be ignorant of other languages simply because our country is so large in size. The demand for multilingual lawyers is very present and we should learn from the Europeans who have addressed this problem all along because of their geographical situations. As far as subject matter is related, I don't believe small firms will have to adjust their areas of practice to include international law. There will still be issues of personal injury, workers' compensation, and other areas that are common to people in general.

Honickman Yes, I think internationalization will take over firms. The small firms will virtually disappear.

Daynovsky Yes, absolutely. Most bigger firms (more than 70 attorneys) will have at least two international offices. Small firms (less than 30 attorneys) will remain local and cater to their own local community.

Levy I do not think the trend toward internationalization will engulf the small firms because they can still specialize in the things they do well. But, I think most transactions that require a need for multi-border legal advice will be done by international firms. Small firms that want to stay in this market should expand either by internal growth or merger.

Davies I think the trend might continue in the future, however, I think that it will consist of the medium and predominantly large size firms merging together around the world. I do not think that it will engulf the small firms because like stated earlier, people still like human contact, and this will keep the small firms alive in the future.

Bagga Since business is global, those lawyers that practice corporate law will need to have an international presence. In order to provide services to their largest clients, firms will merge or have agreements in place with international firms. Even regional firms will need to have some type of work arrangement with international firms. This will lead to more legal networks where firms working in America will have resources available to seamlessly service their clients in other countries.

Scovin As with the trend in consolidation, I think the trend toward internationalization will also increase.

6. What technology change (existing or coming) will most affect law practices? Why?

Levy The full implementation of a digital economy. We have the capability now, but getting the majority of the country on that level I think will further make the economy more efficient. Also I think the increase in the education level of the American population will spur the need for legal services because that human capital will be doing something using their mind (likely in services areas) and that in turn will require legal services.

Daynovsky Tele-conferencing, as opposed to face-to-face meetings, will become commonplace. Both litigation and deal war rooms will become much more technical as technology (such as document scanning, research capabilities, financial tools, etc.) gets more advanced. The most effective change is difficult to forecast.

Wert I think book research will be obsolete and on-line research will be the only way to research. I think most law practices will rely heavily on the use of computers to do most of the work around the firm. Technology in the courtroom is spreading rapidly and I think it will change the way trials are run.

Bagga Technology will have the biggest effect on the legal profession on both the corporate level and the consumer level. On the corporate level there will be an increased shift to completely electronic filing. As technology becomes easier to use, courts will require that all case documents be filed electronically and corporate adversaries will want electronic versions of files to save printing and shipping costs.

On the consumer side, software will change the function of a lawyer. Lawyers in the future will review documents after their clients first prepare a preliminary version. The work balance will shift from one where the lawyer does all the preparations to a model where customers do some of the groundwork and the lawyer reviews the document.

Already there are many legal programs that help the average person fill out legal documents using a “check-the-box” method. This is similar to taxes, which can be completed either by hand, by using software or by using a professional. Some legal documents will initially be created using software by selecting clauses that a person wants to include in the document. Lawyers will then earn their fee by reviewing the document for completeness and by offering advice to make sure all the issues are covered.