A quick dive into the millennial legal market

Millennials are increasingly changing how the legal market operates. They are breaking the rules and applying their own tactics. Yes, they are embracing advanced technologies to enhance their legal services.

The legal profession is experiencing changes due to the seismic shift being driven by millennials. In this post, I am going to discuss four ways in which they are indeed changing the rules.

“The legal market is changing from an individualistic, low-tech, dormant system to a collaborative, high-tech, and dynamic one,” said Jordan Furlog, a legal market analyst.

Law firms have noted that clients are beginning to demand more and they are seeing the transformation already. Hence, this means that the market is becoming more sophisticated as the buying power increases.

Here are some of the characteristics experienced among millennial clients:

1. Customisation of services

You cannot fit all using only one size. Bespoke is the word of the day. It has been confirmed that clients want services that are tailored to meet their specific needs.

The millennial client wants to be given chance to participate in the process. As a matter of fact they expect to be given what they want immediately after requesting for them.

Hence, this means that law firms should be equipped enough to attend to immediate issues brought to them by their millennial clients.

Experts say that millennials want to be treated more than just a client. They wish to be treated like partners.

2. Choice

Choice is what millennials want. At this age, millennials have been exposed to many choices whenever it comes to making consumption decisions. And the same applies when they seek legal services from law firms.

Research shows that the loyalty that was put in law firms is now fading as people prefer individuals with special expertise.

Many law firms have stated that some of their clients prefer setting their own dedicated legal service team. They may go as far as choosing them from different law firms.

The main reason why millennial clients demand choice is that they want to determine the best option available to them.

3. Flexible pricing

Millennials don’t like time-based billing, hence that’s the reason why they prefer flexible pricing models. But I figured out it is not millennials alone – I mean, don’t we all dislike time-based billing?

Clients are increasingly using analytics to measure productivity and cost. Professionals say that this will put pressure on lawyers and law firms to provide high-quality services.

Law firms should ensure that their On Call retainer pricing and their On Site fixed pricing matches their clients’ needs for both pricing and flexibility.

4. Multidisciplinary

In order to achieve the best results, law firms will be required to include non-legal specialists into their legal team. Also, this is important because businesses and deals become complicated.

For example, a legal specialist confirmed to us that they are already witnessing an increase in the need for compliance and regulatory professionals.

The pure legal partnership is expected to be a dinosaur when millennial-led law firms will strategically align with other specialists.