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What challenges will the future bring?
Josep Camí (AGT 06) Executive Director-Transaction Tax at Ernst & Young Abogados, SLP
“The main challenge of the future for law firms is, in my opinion, the technological change that is looming in the provision of legal services, as theorised by Richard Susskind. Little by little, new players are in offering new business models in the law field, with a very different focus from that of a traditional law firm. It is safe to say that soon services with low added value will be standardised, so law firms will have to focus on mainly with a multi jurisdictional element, in order to compete in the digital market”.
Javier Mourelo (AMP 11) Director of Talent at Clifford Chance
“Strengthening our position as a leading international firm in Spain; working with the necessary perspective to set and achieve medium to long-term goals, avoiding solutions that could work only in the short-term; maintaining the motivation of our professionals, further promoting meritocracy and fostering the growth and profitability of the firm in order to ensure career and development opportunities to retain talent; being the ‘employer of choice’ for new generations of lawyers; and taking greater risks in the area of innovation and creativity and deepening our commitment to CSR”.
“Multidisciplinary one-stop-shop firms are those that are surviving the throes of the crisis with the most dignity and will grow the most when this situation lets up. Profitable areas during the good times, such as M&A, corporate restructuring and specialities related to the real estate sector have plummeted, forcing many professionals to repurpose themselves for other disciplines. On the other hand, areas such as work-related bankruptcy, economic crimes and tax procedures have been experiencing a sweet moment (if that can be said in such a bitter context), with a substantial increase in business. The crisis has also created new business opportunities for law firms, and new disciplines and specialisations have emerged, such as corporate finance or distressed M&A, among others,” according to Jesús Romero, partner at Crown Horwath Legal y Tributario. For Àlex Carbonell (Lic&MD 00), partner at Gómez-Acebo & Pombo Abogados, the market has become much more competitive, as there are many operators and less money to spend; this has meant a decrease in turnover in the sector. Moreover, buying hab-
Jesús Romero Partner at Crowe Horwath Legal y Tributario
“We are witnessing a great proliferation and modernisation of standards that will force us to have greater technical expertise. The assigned lawyer or general firm can no longer meet all client concerns. Even within a single discipline, such as tax specialisation. This leads us to invest more in R&D for a steady development of new products and services to offer, customising the category of each client. Medium and large firms will not be designed without an internal department, with which more or less resources will be devoted exclusively adaptation to new technologies will be key”.
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APRIL--JUNE 2015 JANUARY-MARCH 2011