Law firms exposed as legal AI giants on poaching mission of tech talents
The legal world is facing a new kind of talent war, with law firms and tech companies battling to attract the sharpest minds. As legal tech grows, the fight for experienced lawyers is heating up.
Think back to a few years ago, when the war for talent dominated the headlines after the US firms in London kept adding more pound signs onto their pay packets to woo the best and brightest lawyers over from their English competitors.
The war led to eye-watering starting salaries for lawyers just entering their careers, with the top newly qualified (NQ) salary in the City at £180,000. But it was the middle-tier firms that struggled, unable to keep up with pay increases while still expecting high billable hours.
This came around the same time as the pandemic, when a lot of lawyers left private practice for in-house roles, seeking a more flexible work environment than a law firm.
As with every sector across the City, recruitment and headcount will start to look a little different as AI continues to dominate every corner of conversation. But just how different is still to be seen.
What we do know is that lawyers will be expected to have more to their CV than just their legal expertise, and tech knowledge will become the norm. Nick Woolf, partner at Woolf&Co, told Morning Wire: “What we’re seeing is less about technical proficiency and more about technological literacy.”
“Firms increasingly expect lawyers to understand how tech affects client risk, drives efficiency and has an impact on pricing. It’s becoming part of commercial awareness rather than a separate skillset,” he added.
In the meantime, law firms across the City are investing heavily in legal tech, despite many lawyers at top firms still needing help understanding these new tools.
Lawyers, especially at the senior end, who are more comfortable with legal tech and encourage their teams to use the tools firms buy in, are seen as valuable. The only problem with law firms is that these lawyers are seen as a gem in the legal tech market, opening the door to alternative careers rather than remaining at a law firm.
Just this week, the legal tech firm Harvey hired Charles Russell Speechlys’ Joe Cohen as a legal innovation partner. Cohen has worked in the legal innovation and technology field for over a decade.
At a time when law firms need it most, legal tech firms are gobbling up CVs from experienced lawyers who are bullish on the new tech tools. Alex Fortescue-Webb, head of UK and Ireland at Legora, told Morning Wire: “What we see is a lot of people interested in this career path, on the one hand, yeah, they’re not so interested in the partner track.”
“They want to be part of bringing this sort of transformation to the legal profession.. and they’re really passionate about this.”
Fortescue-Webb reported that at Legora, 90 per cent of its legal engineers are former lawyers from a range of backgrounds and experiences, all with a passion for new tech tools. The strategy of having former practising lawyers, including Fortescue-Webb, is that it is easier to understand the needs of their clients who are all law firms or in-house counsels.
As these legal tech firms gain momentum, the need to grow teams will continue to increase, meaning more poaching will be on the cards.
Eyes on the Law is a weekly column by Maria Ward-Brennan focused on the legal sector.