As we learned in class, a majority of lawyers in Florida work in solo or small firms. Because of technology, a lot of lawyers do not have any support staff like a secretary or legal assistant and they do everything themselves. They can run their law firm completely with just their phone or iPad. The technology that has allowed lawyers to handle case management, communication with clients, billing, research, and data management all on their own, almost eliminating the need for a legal assistant or secretary. Why hire someone when you can do it yourself with automated apps?
We also talked about in class how there are companies that can answer phone calls for you and act like they are working in your office, even though they handle many different businesses and may be across the country. Services like this are popular because you do not need to worry about finding someone to hire, giving them a place to work or the technology to do it on, or managing them. It is done all for you.
And even if a firm does decide to hire a legal assistant, the position has changed drastically in the past couple of years. According to an article in LegalTech News, “The older, traditional role of a legal secretary is pretty much gone. The secretary of the future needs to have really strong IT skills ... and more multitasking than they ever did before." The support staff for a smaller law firm now may not do the job duties that they used to be responsible for. In a non-tractional firm that does not have a physical office, the position would have completely different responsibilities. Instead of a secretary taking calls and messages and managing the calendar of an attorney, they would need to know how to use more complex technology and manage more. Instead of filling paper documents or mailing out letters and bills, they email them or e-file. Since the work is “easier” to do, they might be responsible for more. Instead of a secretary and a legal assistant/paralegal, it may be one person that does all of that. Similar to how an attorney at a solo firm would also be the accountant, secretary, legal assistant, and lawyer all in one.
Overall, I think technology has changed how many lawyers need support staff and how the duties of those employees has evolved. The accessibility that lawyers have and convenience to run their firm digitally has eliminated the need for a secretary for most solo firms. Although the numbers are not decreasing for this job, they certainly aren't the norm for every single lawyer. It will be interesting to see how the need for support staff changes in the future the more technology grows, especially with the use of A.I.
Sources:
https://www.law.com/thelegalintelligencer/2021/09/07/how-legal-secretarial-roles-are-evolving-in-big-law-402-89742/
I agree that technology is definitely changing the legal game but I don't think that it will ever entirely replace legal support staff. I have seen what legal support staff do and nothing can replace how essential they are.
ReplyDeleteI dont think any technology could ever fully replace some support staff. I have seen a legal secretary really just carry the functions of a firm. From handling documents, taking calls, and keeping appointments, a really good legal secretary takes all that hassle away from an attorney and makes everything run much more smoothly for the firm as a whole. While technology could supplement some of those functions, it cannot replace to person-to-person interaction that a lot of clients still want and/or will need when not everything is cut and dry or as situations change.
ReplyDeleteProf. Scott Galloway opined in today's "Pivot" podcast that technology, and particularly AI, are not likely to eliminate entire categories of jobs. Instead, AI is "corporate Ozempic." It reduces a CEO's craving to add more employees.
ReplyDeleteWhat will happen, and he particularly mentioned the legal industry, is that law firms will have two legal assistants instead of four because AI and technology have made people in those jobs more efficient. I think he is correct.
Galloway's podcasting partner, tech journalist Kara Swisher, does think entire categories of jobs will be eliminated. She cited jobs that no longer exist, like elevator operators, milkmen, butter churners, video store clerks, etc. Technology made all those jobs obsolete.
She also has a point. It is manual labor and lower-level retail/clerical jobs that are most at risk. Jobs requiring specialized training and the exercise of professional judgment are at less risk.