In March 2024, Queensland Law Society in consultation with its Innovation Committee, launched the inaugural Business of Law, Technology and AI Survey.
The survey explored the issues impacting legal practice and how technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are being used in legal practice in Queensland.
With more than 400 responses, the results provided insight into the day-to-day challenges for legal practitioners, organisations and firms.
QLS is already putting this information into action by considering the development and delivery of resources targeted at areas where members indicated they need and will most benefit from support.
What are the business issues affecting legal practitioners in 2024?
What did survey respondents say about the business issues in their practice that were ‘keeping them up at night’?
Forty-eight per cent of respondents indicated that meeting expectations (eg of clients, practitioners and/or staff) was one of the top issues affecting their practice or business.
This was followed by working with and getting the most out of existing technology, cyber security concerns and recruitment of staff.
When asked to expand on specific challenges, respondents overwhelmingly reported that recruitment and staffing issues were their number one. This was again followed by concerns around cyber security.
Time was the leading barrier for respondents in being able to work on or address these issues (58 per cent) as well as:
- Not having adequate internal expertise (22 per cent);
- Not being able to change mindsets/advance new ideas (21 per cent); and
- ‘Other’ responses related to costs and staff recruitment and retention.
The survey also revealed that law practices and practitioners are experiencing the financial pressures of the current economic climate with acute challenges for smaller firms and businesses.
Staff recruitment and retention
In relation to staff recruitment and retention, respondents from small firms indicated they experienced significant barriers in attracting and retaining staff, as did those in the regions.
In particular, respondents noted the limited incentives available to offset the ongoing and long-standing difficulty in finding lawyers willing to relocate to regional and remote areas to meet demand for legal services.
On this issue, it is important to note as a sidebar that:
- The Law Council of Australia published its ‘HELP debt reduction and indexation relief for legal practitioners working in rural, regional and remote locations’1 position paper in December 2023 and continues advocacy on this important issue with the support of its constituent bodies including QLS.2
- Last month, QLS called on all campaigning parties and independents in this year’s state election to fund initiatives which promote the recruitment and retention of legal talent in remote, rural and regional communities in our 2024 Call to Parties Statement.3
Job readiness of law graduates and early career solicitors
Respondents reported they were experiencing an increased training burden in firms with respect to junior and other staff. For example, some respondents reported they were having to spend more time training new lawyers than previously and had difficulty finding staff who were suitably experienced such as those with business development skills. These issues appeared to be compounded by limited resources to train and manage new staff as well as trained staff leaving within a couple of years.
This feedback was consistent with the findings from the QLS commissioned, 2021 Centre for Legal Education research on the job readiness of law graduates and entry level solicitors in private practice.4
QLS has recently published its New Lawyer Program, a three-module series designed to support new graduates entering the legal workforce. See details about the on-line program here.
In response to these concerns, QLS continues to explore with the Law Council of Australia and other national stakeholders, how to address gaps in skills and competencies identified in the job readiness research.5 This issue has also been the subject of work commissioned by the Council of Australian Law Deans.6 We encourage ongoing member feedback as part of this process. Feedback can be provided to policy@qls.com.au.
What information or guidance from QLS on practice or business issues would assist?
Forty-two per cent of respondents said resources on cyber security risk and mitigation would be most helpful.
Consistent with responses on recruitment and staffing, this was closely followed by mentoring and training staff, working with technology, strategic and business planning.
Those respondents who provided more detail about most needed, helpful resources placed:
- ‘AI’ its management and use at the top of their list, then
- Resources on practice management software and tools and
- Software for small practices and efficiency tools.
Given that limited time appears to be a barrier for many practitioners, QLS is cognisant and focused on ensuring resources are readily accessible and user friendly for members.
Are legal practitioners using AI? If so, how
The key finding on this point was that the use of AI/generative AI is still evolving in practice:
- 64 per cent of respondents said they are not using AI right now in their firms and organisations. To provide additional context for this response, it should also be noted that half of respondents (who provided demographic information) were pinnacle practitioners who have over 21 years PAE and that most were from sole, micro or small legal practices (i.e. 1-19 practising certificate holders).
- Those respondents using AI permitted it for some tasks and these were often limited to internal or marketing work.
- Respondents expressed strong interest in being able to access resources on generative AI fundamentals and an ‘AI overview’.
While respondents wanted to learn more about how to integrate AI into their existing technology, there was also a general awareness of risks and an overarching emphasis on ensuring that the role of lawyers as holders of legal knowledge and expertise remains front and centre in the use of AI tools.
QLS has developed resources for members, which are free:
- QLS has published guidance on the use of AI in Legal Practice here.
- The QLS AI webpage provides resources and guidance for legal practitioners on AI. This is updated as new resources become available. Visit the webpage here.
What next?
The survey results will inform the ongoing work of QLS to deliver practical resources and guidance to support members and foster ongoing discussions about how we can best develop and deliver additional resources with practitioner time pressures in mind.
To ensure we co-ordinate, provide guidance and leadership on these issues, earlier this year we established the QLS Generative AI in Legal Practice Working Group (GenAI Working Group).
We are also currently identifying key themes from all recent QLS research studies so we can ensure that QLS members are supported throughout their legal careers. Watch this space.
What resources are available currently?
While the survey will assist in future planning, QLS has many resources and services already available to support Queensland legal practices. These include:
Practice Advisory Service – Practice Advisory Service which is available free to Queensland legal practices owned and operated by full members of QLS. See more information here.
QLS Ethics and Practice Centre – The centre provides legal ethics and practice support guidance and education to QLS members. See more information here.
Technology and innovation resources – Technology and innovation resources including cybersecurity resources and information can be accessed here.
Self-paced learning options – Our on-demand recordings are also available via the QLS Shop here.
LawCare – QLS members can access LawCare 24 hours a day/seven days a week for support in navigating issues in their personal and professional lives. See more information here.
What if I have more questions or suggestions?
Thank you to all practitioners who took part in the survey. While this year’s Business of Law, Technology and AI survey is closed, we welcome your comments or suggestions on any of these topics throughout the year. Please get in touch via email to policy@qls.com.au.
You can also have your say about the strategic direction of the QLS, by taking the ‘QLS Member Survey’ here which is open now.
Footnotes
1 Law Council of Australia, December 2023, HELP debt reduction and indexation relief for legal practitioners working in rural, regional and remote locations, available at https://lawcouncil.au/publicassets/b8db7833-bc93-ee11-948d-005056be13b5/LCA%20Position%20Paper%20-%20RRR%20HELP%20Debt%20Relief.pdf.
2 E Farrow-Smith, 18 June 2024, Law associations call for student debt relief as regional, rural lawyer shortage worsens, ABC News online, available at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-18/calls-for-debt-relief-amid-regional-and-rural-lawyer-shortage/103975176.
3 Queensland Law Society, 2024 Queensland State Election Call to Parties, available at https://www.qls.com.au/Content-Collections/Statements/2024-Call-to-Parties-statement.
4 N Gauld, 5 October 2023, Jobs research first of its kind in Australia, QLS Proctor, available at https://www.qlsproctor.com.au/2023/10/jobs-research-first-of-its-kind-in-australia/; Queensland Law Society webpage; Market research-Job readiness of law graduates and entry level solicitors, available at https://www.qls.com.au/About-us/Current-Initiatives/Market-research-Job-readiness-of-law-graduates-and.
5 Queensland Law Society webpage; Market research-Job readiness of law graduates and entry level solicitors, available at https://www.qls.com.au/About-us/Current-Initiatives/Market-research-Job-readiness-of-law-graduates-and.
6 Council of Australian Law Deans, 1 December 2021, Reimagining the Professional Regulation of Australian Legal Education, available at https://cald.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Reimagining-KiftNakano_FINAL.pdf.
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