Some 74% of law firms only hire new professionals who are able to generate business and have global skills, according to an ESADE study
Some 74% of law firms look for business-minded candidates when recruiting new professionals. This quality is likewise essential for making partner: 92% of firms underscore the need for a candidate to have a client portfolio in order to make equity partner. Therefore, universities should embrace training models that help students acquire the skills and economic and business knowledge they need to thrive in the framework of a global environment.
These were some of the main findings of a recent study by ESADE Law School, which also found that 76% of lawyers are aware of the importance of skill profiles to succeeding in the profession, as in today’s industry, a strong customer-orientation and the ability to generate new business are critical, often trumping the need simply to have strong technical knowledge.
The study was based on 500 surveys sent to lawyers and recruitment heads and more than 50 in-depth interviews with recruiters at law firms, companies and international organizations.
According to ESADE’s analysis of the sector, in twenty-first century selection processes, 64% of law firms place the greatest priority on candidates’ skills, 31% on their business profiles, and only 5% on their technical expertise, if they lack the first two aptitudes.
Ranking of skills
Customer orientation, analytical thinking and problem-solving, and the capacity for lifelong learning are the most sought-after skills. Considerable importance is also given to the ability to generate new business, which, while not a skill per se, was one of the most frequently cited qualities in the study, according to Eugenia Navarro, one of the co-authors and a professor of public law at ESADE. Lawyers must also be able to participate in the leadership and strategy of the organizations where they work, be able to handle client requests quickly, and contribute value.
Although the market will remain sluggish for another three years, firms will ultimately be strengthened by the crisis, as they will be forced to adopt more process-oriented business approaches that will make them more competitive. Specialization and in-depth knowledge of their clients’ industries, as well the speed with which they can offer their assistance, will be key.
New trends
Revenues in the legal sector have fallen 30% over the last 14 years. The study expects them to continue to decline until 2017, due to lower fees, unsophisticated services and a lack of differentiation.
According to the study’s findings, new models of firms will emerge that will combine supplementary services with traditional legal ones to offer integrated professional services for certain industries. Likewise, firms will seek creative new ways to invoice, although always with a view to ensuring reasonably closed budgets. Furthermore, a new nomenclature will take root in the industry, giving rise to such figures as advisors, counsels and consultants.
As for employability, the trend will be towards flexible compensation and workforces, and increasing importance will be given to the variable portion of compensation packages, which will be linked to performance and the ability to generate new business.
Finance and macroeconomics
Legal services must be able to offer legal and management guidance to multijurisdictional teams in order to meet the needs of a market consisting of companies that operate in a variety of global scenarios. Lawyers will thus have to be familiar with the social and political idiosyncrasies not only of a single country but of multiple geographical regions.
Likewise, the study found that 76% of the time, supplementary training to be able to provide legal assistance in a global environment is key. To this end, strategy, finance and macroeconomics were the most highly valued areas of expertise within the broader economic knowledge that every 21st-century lawyer should have. Thus, the function of law must cease to be understood as a merely domestic matter, and legal training must be refocused to take into account the international context so that lawyers can offer the necessary services for a global economy.
According to Lola Bardají, director of ESADE’s future double bachelor’s degree programme in Law and Global Governance, “The aim is to shore up students’ economic and global knowledge with geopolitical knowledge. For example, when dealing with international conflicts, Russia-Ukraine relations, or the different legislative frameworks of such varied regions as Latin America, Asia, Northern Africa and Anglo-Saxon countries in general, they will need to work with international experts to provide global solutions. The same is true of the online market, where various countries interact in a common technological framework that is accessible to all.
International lawyers and technology
Additionally, the most competitive firms are those that have adapted to new technological developments and offer platforms and systems that can be shared and integrated with those of their clients.
In the area of corporate law, legal professionals must also have knowledge of economics and finance. Lawyers in institutional and corporate legal departments must have an executive profile and be able to play a strategic, rather than merely reactive, role. Today’s corporate lawyers are also executives, expected to participate in the strategic processes of their organization or company. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a corporate organizational chart today that does not include the figure of the new lawyer.
According to the ESADE report, there will also be a greater demand for project legal managers. Such professionals must be able to offer legal perspectives that can be applied to international contexts, as they will need to work amongst various global actors and help to build consensuses between multiple companies and organizations.
Corporate legal services will likewise be oriented towards internationally organized projects, and there will thus be a need for greater specialization in terms of both geographical region and specific international transactions, for example, for NGOs that operate in multiple countries, exporters, or companies with headquarters and offices in several locations.
The ESADE study focused on corporate and commercial law and on law for international institutions, where legal services will play an increasingly more strategic role.
