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Thursday
Feb122015

Business As Unusual: Gensler’s Legal Innovation Lab and the Law Firm of the Future

Image © Gensler

The practice of law is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Over my three- decade career as a designer of law firms, I have watched the industry change in response to specific market trends. Indeed, Gensler’s own research on law firms has highlighted shifts in the legal profession. Today more than ever before, the practice of law is buffeted by unexpected and unpredicted challenges forcing every facet of the industry, from law firms big and small to in-house legal teams, to rethink business as usual.

The law office will play a key role in helping the profession meet myriad challenges head on, but new workplace strategies will be required to keep the legal workplace up to pace with shifting work patterns, employee expectations, and market realities. Our recent ReDesign Law exhibit at the ALA (Association of Legal Administrators) annual conference showcased opportunities to create an efficient, high-performance workplace to meet the needs of the future of legal work.

Image © Gensler

A participant survey, taken by over 250 ReDesign Law attendees, posed questions on the current state of respondents’ workplaces and the future of the legal workplace.

Today, we are thrilled to present our findings: Gensler’s Legal Innovation Lab.

What did we learn? Change rules. Three out of four respondents noted that change is a fact of life in the legal industry and that leadership at their organizations is receptive to change. Key trends impacting the legal industry underscore the broad changes within the industry including the adoption of new technology, managing an increasingly multi-generational workforce, and the war for top talent.

Approaching these trends thoughtfully and embracing the pace of change proactively is of vital importance for all of us involved in the legal industry. I encourage you to read our latest survey results, talk about them with your teams, consider their implications, and strategize for a future that is most certainly not business as usual.

Image © Gensler

Marilyn is a firmwide Leader of Gensler's global Professional Services Firms Practice, to which she brings an expertise in innovative and award-winning law office planning. Contact her at marilyn_archer@gensler.com.

Reader Comments (2)

thanks for the post
02.19.2015 | Unregistered Commenterlucky
wow great article inspired and good attractive blog thanks to shared this.

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