'Firms are no longer differentiating themselves based on their technical capabilities, but rather their service capabilities' and 'digitalisation is key [to this process of change], as it offers a wealth of opportunities for law firms to differentiate their services from those of the competition', said Eugenia Navarro, a lecturer on strategy and legal marketing at ESADE Law School. She was speaking at the forum 'The digital environment: how is the profession changing?' organised by ESADE in collaboration with the Wolters Kluwer Foundation. In this regard, she continued, 'the search for differentiation has caused the legal sector to evolve, especially with regard to how services are provided and the legal model, as witnessed by the emergence of alternative business structures, whereby law firms have evolved into genuine legal service companies, with models and client approaches visibly drawn from the business world'.

Digitalisation: management, impact and benefits

According to Julio Villalobos, director of marketing at ESADE, 'When an organisation embarks on the transformation from analogue to digital, it needs to ensure brand coherence, have specific training in the area, and have the necessary human resources to define the change. It must also understand that the digitalisation process is a corporate culture that each department will need to integrate and assimilate.'

Begoña Mestanza, market solutions director at Wolters Kluwer, explained, 'Digital transformation does not consist solely in using new technologies, but also in observing, reviewing and modifying existing processes at our organisation with a view to using technology to achieve efficiencies in services, attracting clients, and delivering greater value to them.' In this context, she noted, 'Digitalisation has improved performance in the legal profession, not only in terms of accessibility, the management of large volumes of information – thanks to big data – and ensuring that content is constantly up to date, but also by enabling the creation of new models of practising law.' Nevertheless, she warned, 'the legal sector remains one of the least computerised and automated sectors, with insufficient technology and little digital training for lawyers'.

The digital transformation has also impacted clients insofar as it has led to the development of new client profiles and needs. In this regard, Navarro said, 'the profile of the traditional client who needs to be in physical contact with his or her lawyer to feel secure still exists', but 'a more digital and connected profile has also emerged, that of a client who turns to the Internet to find a legal service'. At the same time, she recalled, although 'we must take into account where the market is headed', we must also nevertheless 'continue to tailor our services to the different client types'.

Legal cybersecurity

According to María de la Torre, chief compliance officer for the MásMóvil Group, 'Until recently, legal cybersecurity matters were handled by the systems and security departments, but this situation has changed.' Today, she said, 'certain aspects of cybersecurity have to be included in corporate governance reports and we need to know how to convey our risk map and responsibility matrix for dealing with potential cybersecurity attacks to the board'. In this regard, De la Torre stressed, 'lawyers are the perfect interface for explaining new technology in the old world'. Moreover, she added, 'they are the ones who need to internally drive that change in the cultural approach to the legal aspect of cybersecurity'.

For Mestanza, 'Cybersecurity is one of the main challenges for law firms, as it is a complex issue to address, due to the highly sensitive information with which the sector works.'

The event also featured José M. de Areilza, a professor at ESADE Law School and holder of the Jean Monnet Chair at ESADE, and Rosalina Díaz Valcarcel, president of the Wolters Kluwer Foundation.