Somehow, lawyers inversed this proverb into a time gauge, thriving on the mantra: more time spent is better. As a result, the profession evolved to reward itself on input (more time spent on matters) than output (efficient results).

Beneath the peripheral of the profession lies a stone-cold traditional legal culture with roots deeply buried in legal fundamentalism. Its view is that the profession is under threat from innovation – a perception of loss driven by fear. This fear is about losing hundreds of years of legal exceptionalism and dominance: pricing, supply, terms, regulations, licensure, memberships etc.

Whether resisting innovation will prevent the legal profession from being subsumed by the industry, especially in this age of the client, is another question altogether.

Resisting innovation

Legal fundamentalists want to remain relevant in society as a dominant guild. They strive to preserve the profession even if it means resisting innovation at all costs. However, what legal fundamentalists fail to realise is that gone are the days when legal service delivery was all about lawyers operating from their cocoon of self-regulated towers.

Today, traditional legal culture is on the brink of extinction as innovation sweeps across the profession and transforms service delivery methods, especially in areas that matter most to clients – legal costs. For a long time, a high price tag on justice has not only hampered an individual’s ability to access justice but has also undermined the public’s faith in the legal system.

Hence why cost is often considered as one of the biggest reasons for client dissatisfaction with lawyers and the profession itself.

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Clients are in charge now

Innovation is the new rage and clients are the drivers of innovation – automated legal research, e-discovery, no win-no fee arrangements etc. Clients are quickly learning how to use innovation to get more for less. For example, many clients these days only sign up with law firms that can provide more-for-less through the implementation of technology, such as e-discovery.

No wonder why quite often we hear about law firms embracing innovation – the proliferation of media releases, awards and accolades, even designated job titles for innovation within firms.

Take Corrs Chambers Westgarth as a perfect example. Recently, Corrs scrapped the traditional requirement of billable hours. What this initiative means for Corrs’ clients is that the lawyers will now cease to be fixated on daily time costing just to worship traditional legal culture, and instead manage their time effectively to deliver optimum results for the clients.

Embracing innovation

For those idealising the past and fearing change, the good news is that the legal profession will always play a role for clients and society in one way or another. Innovation simply offers lawyers the necessary tools to better serve clients and society.

It offers lawyers the opportunity to reverse society’s perception of the profession and to leverage their knowledge in ways that were never possible before. For instance, replacing hourly rates with a fixed fee for service.

Those who implement this upcoming trend will truly deliver maximum client satisfaction – clients will know the kind of service to expect without last-minute surprise bills.

This is what innovation is all about – overhauling traditional service delivery methods to better serve, first, the client, then the firm. All lawyers have to do is embrace innovation and focus on what is important for clients.

Fortunately, it is still not too late for those avoiding this innovation race.

Arthur Marusevich is a lawyer based in Canberra. He uses his five language skills to help people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Having written his first book, Arthur is an aspiring novelist and aims to publish one novel a year.