Time to pause, recalibrate and learn from the pandemic

The global pandemic accelerated many of the trends already underway in the legal profession – the rise of online courts and online dispute resolution, the emergence of flexible working arrangements and the potential for technology and innovation to facilitate solutions to increase access to justice. The future that the Law Society envisaged in its ground-breaking Future of Law and Innovation in the Legal Profession (FLIP) in 2016 has arrived, and much quicker than ever expected.

Fulfilling the recommendations set out in that FLIP Report, through our ongoing FLIP program, has never been more crucial. As we emerge from the COVID-19 disruption, we need to pause, recalibrate and find ways to take the learnings from the pandemic experience for the benefit of our clients that we serve, our legal practices and the broader profession.

Technology is transforming the way we communicate with our clients, colleagues and the wider community. As we continue to use technology and innovation to reach new clients and deliver legal services, we must balance this with staying true to time-honoured commitments – to court and client; to the rule of law; and to the checks and balances inherent in a modern, democratic society.

Our role, as your Law Society, is to look beyond the practice of law during COVID-19, help you negotiate this changing context and provide you with low cost, innovative and sustainable ways to improve the practice of law. These goals were very much the focus of our first FLIP Regional Roadshow for 2021, held in Parramatta last Friday. Given the high level of engagement from fellow practitioners attending the roadshow, the legal profession is certainly open to this support and guidance.

Still on technology and innovation, it’s not too late to register for this Wednesday’s FLIP Behind the Buzzwords Series online event on data: what is it? Where do you find it? And how can you use it to make better decisions? With research showing that data-driven organisations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers, six times more likely to retain them, and 19 times more likely to be profitable as a result – that adds up to a lot of reasons to attend!

Finally, it was wonderful to see the return of ANZAC Day remembrance services and marches around the country yesterday and the continuation of the RSL’s Light Up the Dawn initiative, developed in the face of COVID restrictions.  It’s important that we never allow ourselves to forget the contribution of our service men and women, including those who died in combat or have taken their lives on home soil. I join many others in welcoming the Federal Government’s decision to establish a royal commission into suicides by Australian veterans and serving defence personnel. I hope it will finally provide a voice for the families of those veterans.

Juliana Warner, President, the Law Society of NSW

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