Dramatic shifts are taking place in the way legal work is being executed as law firms look to cut costs and stretch valuable resources further. Some are turning to technology to reduce workloads and enhance efficiency. For others, global outsourcing is providing answers as they recognise that much of the less skilled work can be done in lower-cost regions. At the same time, firms are beefing up the skills of the lawyers they already have and hope to keep.

The transformation is happening later than it has in many other industries. “What interests me is the change in attitude over the past year,” says Richard Susskind, a legal consultant and author of The End of Lawyers. “Because [in the past decade] the economy has been strong, lawyers haven’t had to introduce the innovations and efficiencies you’ve seen in sectors such as retail and manufacturing. What you’re seeing now is a service community having to adopt a different mentality.”