Speaking on The Lawyers Weekly Show about the importance of upskilling for the next generation of leaders in law and how the legal industry could be falling behind, Mr Singh said that people tend to confine themselves to their comfort zones in what he thinks is a “widespread issue” and that one of his main challenges has been to inspire greatness. 

“I believe that most of us have not fulfilled our full potential. We live very much within our comfort zones and many of us have not been encouraged to stretch ourselves,” he said. 

“[So] how do you help people get greater self-awareness about that untapped potential within themselves, and how do you inspire them towards greater greatness?”

Mr Singh added that this particular sentiment can be applied to lawyers – specifically when it comes to technology and digitalisation. 

“The legal profession has been noted to lag behind other professions in terms of embracing digitalisation. So, there is a tradition of conservatism in the legal industry, which is much stronger than other industries,” he continued. 

Mr Singh said that this lag may mean that lawyers are “more unfulfilled in terms of achieving their potential” than other young professionals. 

“I think people are still performing well below their true potential,” he said. 

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Despite lagging behind other industries slightly, Mr Singh added that technological change is coming for the legal industry. 

“I think that digitalisation is going to transform the legal industry in the next 10 or 15 years. [It’s] going to have a huge impact on the work that lawyers do, how they work with machines, artificial intelligence, the kind of work they do, how they do it and what kind of skills will be prized in the future.

COVID-19 has “accelerated a number of forces of change”, according to Mr Singh, including technology – meaning more and more corporations, particularly larger ones, are accelerating their plans to digitise. 

“Because change was executed so quickly during COVID, when people embrace that change, organisations are seeing the potential to push more transformative change in the next few years than they would have [originally] planned.”

Mr Singh concluded that young lawyers will be able to fulfil their potential in the legal world after embracing digitalisation and being aware of future changes and trends. 

“I believe it’s really important that young lawyers are aware of what future trends are going to impact their future work. And it’s important that they understand the kind of mindset they need to have to succeed in that future workplace. And thirdly, the kind of skills that are going to be prized in that workplace,” he said. 

“[There is] the potential for lawyers, young lawyers, to fulfill their potential, having this knowledge and preparing for that future.”

The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Daljit Singh, click below:

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