Mandate acceptance a reputational risk to firms
The International Bar Association (IBA) has set out the seven most pressing challenges facing the legal profession over the next five years.
They are:
- Artificial intelligence (AI) which will outpace regulation, with a vast, multi-faceted and difficult-to-predict impact,
- Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues,
- Client and mandate acceptance which now pose an increasing risk to law firms in reputation, regulatory scrutiny, and recruiting terms, especially for global, multi-jurisdictional firms. Pressure not to represent clients viewed as ‘unacceptable’ has diminished the independence of the legal profession, the IBA has said,
- Talent attraction and retention is a growing business-model challenge because the younger generation of lawyers has different life priorities,
- A negative public view of lawyers despite strong client service culture and pro bono work,
- Delivering legal advice across multiple jurisdictions is increasingly challenging due to the substantial number of divergent regulations,
- The rule of law must be more actively promoted and protected by the legal profession.
Critical legal issues
IBA President Almudena Arpón de Mendívil Aldama has prioritised the agenda-setting of the critical legal issues.
The agenda follows discussions in London and New York with former IBA presidents David W Rivkin and Michael Reynolds, together with representatives of leading law firms and in-house counsel.