WRAP UP SESSION:

4.0 LAWYERS

HERU SUSETYO, SH. LL.M. M.SI. PH.D

HSUSETYO@UI.AC.ID
7 DECEMBER 2018
SOURCE
http://
tnsja.tn.nic.in/article/Legal%20Profession%20Challenges-FMI
KJ.pdf

Markus Hartung, Current Developments of Legal Markets,

Challenges for Law Firms and for the Education and Training
of Lawyers, Universidad De Navarra 9 May 2013
CHARACTER
John Stuart Blackie says;
“A man may be as brilliant, as clever, as strong and as broad
as you please and with all these, if he is not good, he may be
a paltry fellow and even the sublime which he seeks to reach
in his most splendid achievements, is only a brilliant sort of
badness. One thing is needful; money is not needful; power
is not needful; even health is not needful; but character
alone – a thoroughly cultivated will – is that which can truly
save us.”
Character is vital in all professions and walks of life, and in
the legal profession particularly, the maintenance of the
honesty of the lawyer is a matter of the first importance. The
most worthy and effective advertisement possible for a
young lawyer, especially with his brother lawyers, is the
establishment of a well merited reputation for professional
capacity and fidelity to trust. To me an advocate without
character is like a ship without a rudder
Judge Donovan points out, “the foundation of a lawyer’s
fortune is character… …..out of sight, yet never out of mind
and never out of hearing……character grows from every
transaction, little & large.”
WHAT IS ETHIC
First, ethics refers to well-founded standards of right and
wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in
terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or
specific virtues. For example, it refers to those standards
that impose the reasonable obligations to refrain from rape,
stealing, murder, assault, slander, and fraud. It also includes
those that enjoin virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty.
It comprises of standards relating to rights, such as the right
to life, the right to freedom from injury, and the right to
privacy. Such standards are adequate standards of ethics
because they are supported by consistent and well-founded
reasons.
Secondly, ethics refers to the study and development of
one's ethical standards. As mentioned above, feelings, laws,
and social norms can deviate from what is ethical. So it is
necessary to constantly examine one's standards to ensure
that they are reasonable and well-founded.
Ethics also means, then, the continuous effort of studying
our own moral beliefs and our moral conduct, and striving to
ensure that we, and the institutions we help to shape, live up
to standards that are reasonable and solidly-based
LEGAL ETHICS
When standards of professional conduct are applicable to
members of the legal profession, we call them Legal Ethics.
In the words of Chief Justice Marshall - “The fundamental
aim of legal ethics is to maintain honor and dignity of the
Law profession, to secure a spirit of friendly cooperation
between the Bench and the Bar in the promotion of higher
standards of justice, to establish honorable and fair dealings
with the counsel, with his clients, opponent and witnesses”
4.0 LAWYERS
Advances in technology are occurring
exponentially and these advances increase the
pace of practice and client expectations, forcing
lawyers to adapt or face extinction. Understanding
and implementing new technologies are difficult
and time-consuming for lawyers.
But now, with the advent of Information
Technology, law along with its advocates, should
keep up with the changing dynamics, or else, will
become casualties to these turbulent times.
From an ethical standpoint, I personally feel that advocates will
have to be even more careful in terms of handling various
documents, etc., as unlike the yester years where we were
using only typewriters to draft various plaints, documents, etc.,
and use the registered post to deliver the same, nowadays,
advocates use computers instead, which allows to store data
and also send notices, documents using electronic mail.
Although this might be a very good substitute to a typewriter,
not to say a major boon, but since advocates deal with highly
sensitive and confidential data these days, it is very likely that
the same can be misused, very easily too and hence, I sense
that there should be an independent code of rules governing
the same.
Privileged communication

Conflict of interest

confidentiality
• develop and maintain an awareness of how technically best
to minimize the risks of such communications being
disclosed, discovered or intercepted;
• use reasonably appropriate technical means to minimize
such risks;
• when the information is of extraordinary sensitivity, advise
clients to use encryption software to communicate with their
lawyer, and use such software; and • develop and maintain
such legal practices as offer reasonable protection against
inadvertent discovery or disclosure of electronically
transmitted confidential message
EXAMPLE
In the instant case0 , an attorney inappropriately accessed
confidential e-mails in an effort to obtain an advantage in a
campaign to unionize employees in her workplace. The
attorney used both her office and home computers in an
attempt to access the e-mail accounts of more than 40
employees and at least one member of the employer's Board
of Directors. The purpose of this access was to monitor anti-
union sentiment during a unionizing effort that she initiated
and supported. Some of the messages she deleted had not
yet been read by the recipients. C the lawyer chose to delete
contained anti-union information or sentiment. None of this
activity was authorized. The lawyer was suspended for two
years.
SEVEN LAMPS OF
ADVOCACY

honesty courage industry

Wit Eloquence
judgment
(pengetahuan) (Verbal Skills)

Lamp of
fellowship
WHERE DOES THIS GLOOMY MOOD COME FROM?

„... Law firms have had Christmas for

every day for decades now, but the party
is over.“
(cit. Beat Hess, Shell)
 State of play today

1. Many law firms struggling with their market and their business model

2. Many law firms try to pursue a premium strategy, restructuring their

practices to get costs under control

3. Other firms are pursuing an aggressive globalisation (swiss vereins etc.)

4. Severe cost pressure, even for premium firms

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 SPAIN AND OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

E G UK I F
Number of lawyers 154,953 146,910 139,789 213,08 47,765
1
Lawyers per 1000 population 3.38 1.79 2.27 3.55 0.74
Number of legal enterprises 99,533 46,580 29,093 145,50 51,646
1
Value of market (€ bln) 11.36 24.99 29.54 18.18 11.36
Average revenue per lawyer 72,233 165,303 212,915 83,702 216,75
(€) 1
Top 25: Avg. revenue per 197,000 506,000 669,000 ?? 500,00
lawyer 0
Top 25: Avg. total revenues (€ 64 117 669 ?? 87
mio.)
Top 25: Avg. number of 329 237 1,338 ?? 227
lawyers
Source TOP25: Juve 10/2012; Expansión; Source European figures: Regulatory Policy Institute, August 2012
Top17
25: Total number of 8,217 5,932 32,113 ?? 5,677
 4. CLIENT EXPECTATIONS

“Don’t waste my
time”

“Solve my problem

 
completely”

                                             
“Provide exactly
what I need, where
I need it, when I
need it, and at the
best rate”

© 2011 Dr. Klaus-Peter Weber

RITERIA FOR THE SELECTION/INSTRUCTION OF LAW FIRMS

Expertise

Trust

Personality

Price

Reputation

Service

Recommendation

International Reach

Track Record

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Survey amongst the 150 leading companies in Germany;

Source: Henning, Rechtsabteilungs-Report 2011/2012
 IN EXISTING CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS:
WHAT IS IMPORTANT, WHAT IS (ONLY) HELPFUL?

Industry Knowledge

Relationship Partner

Lower Fees

Proactive Information

Understanding economic needs

Quicker Results Important

Helpful
Better Availability

Think as Supporter

Altern. Billing

Better Reporting

Further Services

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Survey amongst the 150 leading companies in Germany;

Source: Henning, Rechtsabteilungs-Report 2011/2012
 5. THE „NEW BREED“ – LAWYERS FOR THE FUTURE

• Know your clients! Think of them!

Business
Business Acumen
Acumen • Think! Be imaginative!
• Adapt your advice to fit the business

Ownership
Ownership and
and • Manage internal and external ressources wisely
Legal
Legal Management
Management • Understand the elements of legal advice and service provision

• Taking clear position

Accountability
Accountability • Hold yourself accountable

• Precise. Comprehensive. Meticulous...

Rigour
Rigour • ... all that what lawyers are (or should be)

Risk
Risk &
& Cost
Cost • Don‘t shy away!
Management
Management • Keep an eye on costs!

Source: T. Werlen 2010

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Three major trends can be identified:

1.
1. The „More-for-less“-Challenge
„More-for-less“-Challenge

2.
2. Digitalization (growing importance of
of IT, legal knowhow
knowhow „for free“ on the internet)

3.
3. Liberalization
Liberalization (deregulation,
(deregulation, new
new competitors, future of reserved activities?)
activities?)

Source: Richard Susskind, Tomorrow‘s Lawyers, 2012

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FUTURE MODELS OF LAW FIRMS Expert
trusted
Today:
advisor
Enhanced
practitioner

Routine
Worker

PP

Senior
Senior
Associate(s)
Associate(s)

23 Source: R. Susskind, The End of Lawyers?, 2010 Junior

Junior Associates
Associates
HAT DO YOUNG LAWYERS NEED FOR THEIR PROFESSIONAL FUTURE?
1. An excellent legal education

2. “Lawyering I” – understanding clients

3. “Lawyering II” - the application of legal knowledge in today’s business world

4. Training in professional ethics

5. A solid education in business administration

6. A solid understanding of the dynamics of the legal market

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7. Basics of leadership and management in law firms; Soft Skills Training
WHAT DO YOUNG LAWYERS NEED FOR THEIR PROFESSIONAL FUTURE?

1. An excellent legal education

2. “Lawyering I” – understanding clients
3. “Lawyering II” - the application of legal
knowledge in today’s business world The voice from the US:
4. Training in professional ethics
5. A solid education in business Future lawyers must
must also
also be
administration capable of connecting law
law with
collateral disciplines ranging from
6. A solid understanding of the dynamics of
corporate finance to game theory
the legal market to cognitive
cognitive psychology.
psychology.
7. Basics of leadership and management in
law firms; Soft Skills Training (Prof. Epstein,
Epstein, WSJ
WSJ 66 May
May 2013)
2013)

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