Tomorrow's Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future

by Richard Susskind

In his newest provocative and forward-looking volume on the legal profession, Richard Susskind-the best-selling author of The End of Lawyers? and The Future of Law-predicts fundamental and irreversible changes in the world of law. What Susskind sees is eye-opening-a legal world of virtual courts, Internet-based global legal businesses, online document production, commoditized service, legal process outsourcing, and web-based simulated practice. Legal markets will be liberalized, with new jobs for lawyers and new employers too.

Tomorrow's Lawyers is a definitive guide to this future--for young and aspiring lawyers, and for all who want to modernize our legal and justice systems. It introduces the new legal landscape and offers practical guidance for those who intend to build careers and businesses in law. Susskind identifies the key drivers of change, such as the economic downturn, and considers how these will shape the legal marketplace. He then sketches out the new legal landscape as he envisions it, highlighting the changing role of law firms-and in-house lawyers-and the coming of virtual hearings and online dispute resolution. He also suggests solutions to major concerns within the legal profession, such as diminishing public funding, and explores alternative roles for future lawyers in a world increasingly dominated by IT. And what are the prospects for aspiring lawyers? Susskind predicts what new jobs and new employers there will be, equipping prospective lawyers with penetrating questions to put to their current and future bosses.

Tomorrow's Lawyers is an essential roadmap to the future of law for those who want to survive the rapidly changing legal landscape.

Genres: Law, Nonfiction, Legal, Professional Development, Business, Education, Buisness

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 2013

About the author

Richard Susskind OBE

Reviews

[Michael Lewyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book predicts that the UK and the US will need fewer lawyers, because much work that has historically been done by lawyers (especially younger, less-skilled lawyers) can be done by computers, paralegals or someone working cheaply out of a non-First-World office. To the extent that lawyers will find new jobs in large numbers, they will do so not by using traditional legal skills than by organizing the paralegals and computers.

I don't consider myself enough of an expert either to intelligently agree or intelligently disagree with Susskind's views. I do think, however, that Susskind's book is concise and readable- so if you want to read a statement of Susskind's point of view, his book is worth reading.

However, it does seem to me that Susskind overestimates the ability of laypersons to resolve legal issues without hiring lawyers. He seems to think that a moderately educated layperson can avoid a lawyer by searching the Internet. But when my parents or other relatives ask me to do a little legal research, I often find that only the simplest issues can be resolved without the assistance of a specialist.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick, interesting read of progressive ideas about the future of the legal profession. Susskind analyzed how the legal market has dramatically changed since the recession (e.g., clients wanting more for less, the growing importance of technology) and ways it may develop to respond to these changes. He challenges the billable hour, the structure of traditional law firms, and the ways lawyers work. While he doesn't foresee the advice-giving lawyer disappearing, there may be several new jobs for young attorneys such as legal management consultants, legal risk managers, legal project managers, and legal technologists. Those hiring these new lawyers might be accounting firms (e.g., Deloitte, KPMG), revamped law firms, legal publishers, and legal leasing agencies (e.g., Axiom). He also hopes law schools can better train lawyers to operate in this new world to be "flexible, team based, hybrid professionals, who are able to transcend legal boundaries, speak the language of the boardroom, and are motivated to draw on techniques of modern management and information technology." Ultimately, it was a refreshing perspective from someone who foresees that the legal industry can and will eventually need to change.

[Alex Catalán Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Put simply, Susskind offers a must-read for any current law student. He thoroughly analyses the way that legal services are delivered, and in reading it in 2016 'Tomorrow's Lawyers' even makes some accurate predictions of the manner in which law firms currently operate (particularly in terms of sourcing). Susskind attributed the wave of disruption to legal services primarily to three factors: the 'More-for-Less' Challenge, Liberalisation, and the promulgation of Information Technology. He de-constructs the seldom questioned conventional wisdom that dominates amongst legal practitioners, and builds a fresh and innovative - albeit scary - picture of the future provision of legal services.

Susskind is unapologetic in his critique of legal services myopia, providing aspiring young lawyers with an illuminating perspective on an otherwise alien world. Moreover, Susskind tailors 'Tomorrow's Lawyers' precisely to them - tomorrow's lawyers - in the advice that he offers for career planning and even interview strategies.

A fantastic read for any law student such as myself. Frankly, it should be required reading at every law school.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the first half of this book, but skimmed the rest. I liked its clarion call for change in the legal profession. I recently attended a seminar in which a number of high brow important lawgivers complained that 75% of the population can't afford the justice system. Susskind sees the problem and - probably astutely - tells us that solutions will come. His warning is that change to the legal profession will be drastic and painful to those resistant to the change.

The problem with the book is that it is written from a Big Law perspective. While this doesn't detract too much from the first half, the second half does.

[Kenneth Grady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although a bit of a re-write of one of his earlier books, this one does a better job of making Susskind's points. Overall, it poses some of the interesting questions about practicing law in the future. At this point, we need to see many of the issues play out. But, this is a good starting point.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seemed like the positions taken in the book didn't go far enough. It's full of 'I think this way,' but doesn't offer much by way of reasoning.

I had to read it for a class otherwise I'd have never read it because srsly idc

[Charity · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first part is well done and captivating. After that it's a snooze, and could have been condensed.

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

law with technology, it's the inevitable trend.

[Cem Ucan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the only book that a law student or practitioner should read. If you are not, you are stealing from your future.

[Amelie Procter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can see how in theory this would be a great book for people who are actually lawyers and it’s their career however I’m just a girl I’m not a lawyer yet so this did not really help me but I guess it opened my eyes to the future of the law industry, potential challenger there may be in the future and potential opportunités. But yeah kinda wasted my time with this one

[Béatrice Girardin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lu pour le travail

[Abugslife99]

No existential crisis here I promise

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book if you are interested in how the practice of law is likely to (and hopefully will) change. Susskind has studied the topic in great detail and provides a really clear case for what the future holds. In consulting with some big law firms over the past few years, he seems to be spot on in his predictions. I like how he is able to present an optimistic view of how legal practice will change and what that means for lawyers. Obviously, plenty of lawyers fear change and deny any need for it. But things are still changing. The most promising part is the possibility of increasing access to quality legal services for all people. As he notes, legal services are outside the means of so many people. And this is in a world where I can go online and look up almost anything, teach myself anything by watching free videos, listen to music for free, etc. Yet, many in the law seem fearful of losing a monopoly over legal knowledge, and thus have worked to squash efforts to provide free or low cost legal information and advice online, etc. This book shows how we can do better.

[Stella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually read this one in paper. It's a tiny book, and a self-professed "condensed" version of Susskind's recent thinking on the topic of the future of lawyers. I found it very thought-provoking, and (as a lawyer with a long career ahead of me) a little scary. It's written in an easy-to-read, compact style. I would recommend it to any lawyer who has been in practice for under 10 years and who is interested in seeing how the practice of law may change in the coming years.

[Nida · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because my lecturer gimme Midterm Exam 😃 this is cool book, open my mind that as legal student we've much legal profession in the future, we've to open our mind "what's going on or what happen in this world".. if we wanna be great legal profession in the future, we have to open w/ the Artifical Intelligence.

[Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading for anyone in or considering going to law school.

[Adrian Halpert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a fantastic little book which would be of interest to anyone in the legal field or anyone interested in law and / or technology.
The legal field has already been impacted by the growth of the internet and the availability of online legal resources, which encourages non-lawyers to look for free and easy legal answers online rather than consult expensive and sometimes hard to understand lawyers. The huge growth of Self Represented Litigants is a good example of how these changes are impacting the profession. Like it or not, many more changes are coming with the advent of AI, AR and VR. At present, AI is already making a splash in a number of legal firms and can process more informaiton more accurately than a team of junior lawyers can. VR is gaining use in the courtroom as a powerful new way of presenting evidence and AR, by overlaying data on top of the real world, has a wide range of applications in law. One I can think of right off the top of my head is how useful it could be in on the ground legal training, where AI, communicating with its user through AR, could guide students or novice lawyers through their first cases, enabling them to experience learing in a whole new way.
What does this mean for the profession? Susskind offers some ideas about the impact these technologies will have and some ways the legal profession can transofrm to thrive in this new environment. As I'm sure this review is showing, this book has given me much food for thought and I'm quite enthusiastic about embracing some of the technological changes impacting the legal profession. Many legal practitioners are not, and are even fearful of what these changes will bring. However, we live in a world that is undergoing rapid changes socially and technologically, and ready or not, these changes are going to have a transformative impact on the law and the legal profession. It's time to start thinking about how to cope with and thrive in this new environment.
Highly recommended!
4.5/5

[Sarag22 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Di questo testo ho letto la traduzione italiana, ad opera della casa editrice Guerini Next. Il libro è profondamente radicato nella realtà anglosassone, ma la lettura è senza dubbio utile anche per noi italiani, perché, seppure più lentamente e in misura minore, i cambiamenti che descrive li stiamo già vedendo anche qui.
Susskind descrive nella prima parte del libro le maggiori circostanze che stanno mettendo in crisi la professione legale per ciò che è stata tradizionalmente fino ad ora: gli alti costi dei servizi legali tradizionali, che ha indotto le grandi aziende a rivolgersi a sistemi alternativi in grado di garantire il "più a meno" e i piccoli clienti a fare del tutto a meno dell'assistenza legale; l'ingresso della tecnologia, ivi inclusa l'intelligenza artificiale, che ha reso in parte obsoleta la componente intellettuale della professione; la diffusione di metodi alternativi per l'approvvigionamento delle conoscenze legali e per la risoluzione delle controversie. Serviranno ancora gli avvocati? No, secondo Susskind, o comunque in misura infinitamente più marginale di quanto non lo sia stato fino ad ora. Certo, nell'ultima parte enuncia una serie di professioni di matura legale che potranno emergere e dare opportunità in chi abbia studi in queste materie. Prospettive interessanti, ma non tali da annullare la sottile angoscia data dal pensare che in qualche modo ci stia sempre più allontanando da un mondo non a misura d'avvocato, ma proprio a misura d'uomo.

[Nada · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was very well written, in the manner where he clearly explains his line of thinking as well as any confusing meanings behind it for the reader to understand. His ideas about the future of law was such an interesting read, and his ideas can clearly be seen slowly being integrated in our legal systems today.
However there are points in his book where he doesn’t properly evaluate his ideas for the future of law, making his view come across quite bias. One instance was where he spoke about ‘machine learning’ being integrated into our legal systems in the future, but doesn’t go into any evaluation of whether this would be a best course of action. As the idea itself does bring many benefits to our legal systems, there are many contractions about ‘machine learning’ itself. One being that the algorithm written for this is very bias, and can tend to discriminate, therefore something like this in our legal systems would be inappropriate and unfair/unjust.

Although this book was such an interesting read, and makes be very excited to see how the future of law will turn out, using current technology and new ones to come.

[Sipho · Rating 3 out of 5]

The big idea of this book is that the legal landscape is changing. New and current law graduates will very likely be employed in different roles in the next 10-15 years. Susskind examines, among other things, the 3 drivers of change in the legal industry, strategies for success, the future for law firms and what skills lawyers will need to thrive in this new world.

COVID-19 has probably accelerated some of this disruption. The extent to which this is true, however, remains to be seen. For this reason, this book was timely.

That said, it lacked sufficient detail on what skills lawyers will actually need to develop. While he describes a variety of roles that graduates could potentially take up, there is little explanation on how to train for them.

Also, many of the arguments subtly assume that law firms will accede to the times and change accordingly. This may well be true, but history has shown that behemoths rarely go down without a fight.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book on the recommendation of a mentor and learned considerably more than I had expected about the future for law and legal services. I normally would not place much value on predictions for 5, 10, or 20 years into the future, but the author’s past predictions (20 years ago) have materialized in ways that suggest that his current predictions too may come true.

It seems technology is finally reaching a point at which it can address the legal challenges Susskind identifies, and as a result, legal services in 10-20 years will look noticeably different from how they have looked for the past 40+. Such changes would make me hesitate from seeking legal training through a traditional law degree, but opportunities will arise for more innovative or business-oriented approaches.

[Marco Tansella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really useful to get a first introduction into lawtech. Also, to get an idea of how the profession is transforming itself. Thorough the book, Susskind is always precise and never generic. He mentions what technology has already changed (ex. the tariff agreements), what it is most certainly going to change (ex. basic analysis work such as due diligence will be carried out by disruptive software, such as Kira is doing today for major law-firms), and what it might change (ex. a full settlment of virtual courts, where AI will do the most of the job).

A must read. Especially for law students, whose opportunities and responsibilities are addressed in the last chapters.

[Yasyfa Alifya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susskind introduces the new concept where the young lawyers are expected to witness the fundamental transition in their day to day legal works. The emergence of new technologies and their never-ending advancement may dominate the world's future jobs. The presence of AI might also take over even the most bespoke job in our world. Despite the challenges and threats, Susskind's approach to legal technology was narrated in a positive way. It actually opens so many doors for young lawyers to grow and learn. After all, it's not the threats that we must worry about, but the ability of young lawyers to cope with the fundamental shifts in our legal business.

[Parham Golestanian · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an aspiring lawyer entering law school, I could not recommend this book any higher! Some segments were bland, some were thoroughly uninteresting, but the insights Susskind provides should be taken into consideration for those interested in entering the legal field: especially if they plan to take significant loans.
Susskind touches upon a myriad of causes that he foresees will quell demand for new lawyers; leaving it to the reader to explore these topics in depth if desired. The most significant and unpredictable-machine learning-will be an interesting one to see unfold.

[Oliver · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really struggle to get on with Susskind's writing, and I think it's due to the repetitive nature of some of his arguments. He is truly an expert in his field, and that shows, but I do feel that he often over-explains, and this is perhaps easily noticed by a legally-educated audience.

I can however see how some lawyers (particularly commercial practitioners) might enjoy this book, or perhaps applicants to undergraduate law courses.

Found the final chapter on AI particularly interesting, as it's my own field, but other than that, this book was unfortunately not for me.

[roz⭐]

you may laugh, but i did actually read & enjoy this. the first chapter was recommended reading for the innovation, technology and legal project management module of my masters lol. i actually ended up reading the whole book & making notes from a lot of it. in this third edition, susskind speculates how the legal industry will change in the 2020s (and beyond) and what traditional law firms need to do to keep up with alternative business structures and lawtech firms. he discusses old vs new innovation, legal technology & the different types of AI in great detail. i find him to be very informative & perceptive in his assement of the legal industry. it's definitely a prescribed text that i would actually recommend to aspiring legal professionals.

[Braňo Welter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend this book as a quick read. It is inspirational, however mostly conceptual - not much specific information. I expect there will be future editions where more drivers of change will be added - for example E-governments, E-signatures, digitalisation of B2G processes, even automatisation (via API) between Businesses and Governmental agencies. Still, a must read for any lawyer that wants to stay in business, or better yet wants to enter the business in a clever way.

[Julian Chan-Diaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing entirely new if you're familiar to the growing concerns of automation. However, this book does explore in depth the role of technology in law and the belligerent attitude lawyers have towards technology and how the legal world is changing in order to accommodate new technology. It's an informative handbook on the speculative future of the legal work environment, specifically useful to anyone considering pursuing a career as a lawyer.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

As this was published in 2013 and it is now 2021, I had the benefit of some hindsight while reading this. I think if not for the pandemic things would not be as digitized as this author suggested. It was fascinating and will be interesting moving forward to see how his predictions play out. As someone working in the public interest sector, I felt like most of the predictions did not encompass my work, but still fun to read about for my former law school colleagues.

[Kandachamy Vijayakumaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like any other discipline there is copious supply of law graduates, molded in the old cast, to the job market. There is limited awareness of the dynamic changes taking place in the way people and organizations work in the information age. Susskind leads the reader to explore the shape of things to come and inspire the law students to equip according to the emerging needs of the job market. A must read for all law students.