Billable hours have fallen in part because lawyers are taking on admin tasks
Law firms with strong administration departments are becoming very attractive to lawyers who have been bogged down with low-value tasks.
“Higher admin load imposed on lawyers is starting to become a key driver for lawyers to start considering a law firm move,” said Emma Elliott, CEO of the Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA).” Not only are lawyers in demand, but good secretarial and administration staff are in short supply too.”
Elliott pointed to findings published in the 2021 BigHand Legal Workflow Management Report, which indicated that as the number of support staff in firms fell, lawyers had to pick up the slack on administrative tasks – a factor that helped lead to a decline in billable hours.
“Lawyers are seeking firms who have good administration support structures in place, have flexible working arrangements and who view technology as an enabler to drive firm efficiencies,” she explained.
The ability to effectively allocate tasks to support teams was also raised as a concern. The report found that such teams are expecting to experience severe strain in the coming years due to retirement and attrition; firms have indicated that replacing talent has been a challenge.
Nonetheless, Elliott highlighted the resilience of the legal profession over recent years.
“’Essentially, we have been forced into a test-pilot of a number of technology advancements and to find alternate working styles, amongst other things, with the result being far better than expected,” she said. “For the most part the legal industry adapted, survived and thrived, so now the challenge becomes maintaining the balance and working out how to merge the best parts of our pre- and post-COVID worlds and keep this continuous improvement momentum happening.”
