There is increasing need of lawyers specialising in telecommunications, media and technology since the digital media platform is rapidly growing.
The world is changing and much revolution has been brought by the recent surge of telecommunications, media and technology.
However, the rumours surrounding these key areas makes it easy for many people to lose sight of how they have brought change regarding the role of legal practitioners and Australia’s business landscape in general.
In case you haven’t realised, lawyers in this field of practice are now having more to handle on their desks than ever before.
Their work ranges from major deals including government regulation in relation to media share, contract negotiations on airing rights for sports and TV programs and rules regulating telecommunications companies.
With these changing times, only businesses that have adaptable lawyers can easily thrive.
Smart lawyers know that it doesn’t matter the area that they cover, all that is important is that they will have to embrace the new tech challenges. The same applies for law firms and other types of legal service providers in Australia.
It’s getting stronger, faster and bigger…
Yes, the evolution of technology has created room for adequate work in prime areas of law, such as establishing frameworks so new companies can operate legally, handling disputes between providers, and helping companies establish new entities or footprints.
As the space develops over time, many telecommunication and digital media lawyers have had to overcome hurdles – since getting to this point requires much effort.
Paul Kallenbach, partner at MinterEllison says “The rate of change we’re experiencing in the telecommunications industry is the major issue that challenges lawyers in my practice area.”
Lawyers in this field of practice consistently have to be on top of the subject that is rapidly changing. In the past few years, the legal industry has witnessed greater emphasis on the maturing of social media, significant pricing changes, agile contracting and the emergence of blockchain.
As a matter of fact, many legal practitioners have been kept on their toes — they’ve been very busy working on the ever changing sports sector and the television sector.
However, the biggest problem currently facing telecommunications lawyers is consolidation.
Last year, the field witnessed the introduction of mandatory data retention laws – the other big thing that ever happened in the telecommunications industry.
The need for swiftness
Telecommunications lawyers need to be on their feet and act swiftly as the technology continues to go from strength to strength.
Clients no longer need work that will take longer to accomplish but they need what is completed swiftly and as quickly as possible. This can be done easily when lawyers encourage their clients to move quickly from one technology or one provider to another — without having to spend long periods to give notice.
The modern telecommunication lawyers can decide to major in modern or traditional, foreign or local, big or small practice areas.
“Over the past few years, we have consistently been on the growth because all companies – even the old-fashioned – are now embracing technology at a swift pace,” said Mr Smith who is currently helping local start-up firms to get into the tech market.
However, this has created stiff competition between firms since they are all aiming for the major clients in this field of practice. That means that lawyers should be adequately prepared to compete with their counterparts in the telecommunications sector.