Today, I heard the term “lawfluencers” for the first time, have you heard it?
Influencers are becoming increasingly prominent in the traditional world of law. The very idea will have a few people spitting out their cornflakes over breakfast. @Eve Cornwell is an influencer of note, whilst working as an Associate at @Linklaters. Good on you Eve.
The term does not surprise me though. The legal world is going through a huge period of #change, they are just a little bit later to the game than other sectors. It is easy to knock lawyers, as we tend to see cost rather than value that they bring. However, they add lots of value:
✔ help us buy houses
✔ give us a voice when we need it the most
✔ prevent fraud and keep insurance premiums lower
✔ stop people stealing our ideas and protect the businesses we have created
Lawyers play a hugely important role in society. They are the first to poke fun at themselves too. They are opinionated, like to win an argument and they always know best. They work incredibly hard, find a way to get the job done and they also know their world needs to change.
Who would not want someone like that on their side when the chips are down?
Everyone knows the legal industry needs to change, so they need to get on with doing just that. The term “lawfluencer” may be an indication that change is becoming more mainstream too.
The term “intrapreneur” describes wannabe entrepreneurs inside a business. Progressive firms are encouraging their teams to do think like intrapreneurs and do things differently. They are becoming more PLC rather than LLP in outlook and #culture. It takes time and is the right thing to do.
The sector is going through real #transformation.
- Some have already done something different: Gateley Legal, DWF, Knights plc.
- Others are starting out on their own entrepreneurial journey as a start-up.
- Magic circle and white shoe firms are raising salaries which has knock on effects for all.
- Innovation: #AI#robotics is cool, but not many are not doing it properly yet.
- How do they return to the office. How do they develop talent and knowledge share?
I am privileged to know many impressive people driving change in the legal sector, the journey has only just started. The journey starts with PEOPLE, it does not happen overnight in 6-minute blocks.
Earlier this week on our @Linkedin page we shared our top five traps to avoid when starting out on a change journey. It might be worth a look at that too.