RE-ENVISIONING LAWYERING IN THE 21ST CENTURY

INTRODUCTION

Classical western Sociology views law as a medium through which rational authority, social
solidarity and the moral foundations of a society are constructed. It assigns legal profession a
primary role in the construction of modernity. 1 The performance of the role assigned to
lawyers rested on lawyers’ “rational, systematic knowledge, political neutrality and social
detachment, denoted by a distinctive ethical code, service ethos and lengthy, standardised
training”.2 These attributes allowed lawyers to establish themselves as moral, cultural and
intellectual authority thereby encouraging and legitimising law as a profession. In addition, it
allowed lawyers to enjoy a “special, relatively autonomous status in the institutional
environment of the modern Western state”.3

However, in the contemporary times law is not merely a meeting point for rational authority,
social solidarity and moral foundations of society. Further, performance of lawyers is not
solely dependent on the attributes mentioned above, it requires other attributes which are
relevant in contemporary times. Factors such as globalisation, technological advancement and
denationalisation have pushed lawyers to re-envision lawyering as well as law as a discourse.

This essay is an attempt to present a direction for lawyering in contemporary and future
times. It is divided into two parts. Firstly, it sheds light on reasons as to why lawyering
beyond the conventional spaces, strategies and roles is an essential requirement in
contemporary times. Secondly, it describes what can be done differently by lawyers to remain
meaningful, relevant, successful and for achieving their fullest potential.

1
Richard L Abel and others, 'Lawyers In 21St-Century Societies' (HART Publishing 2020)
<https://media.bloomsburyprofessional.com/rep/files/9781509915149sample.pdf> accessed 19 May 2022.
2
Ibid.
3
Ibid.
PART A: LAWYERING BEYOND CONVENTIONAL SPACES, STRATEGIES AND
ROLES

Historically, legal profession has detested any change that has come its way. However, 21 st
Century has been a century of innovation, change, revolution and advancement. It has
compelled lawyers to re-envision lawyering beyond traditional spaces, strategies and roles.

21st Century has witnessed technological advancement at an unprecedented rate. Advent of

artificial intelligence (hereinafter AI), electronic evidences and globalisation have pushed
lawyers to reconsider ways in which lawyering was done previously. 4 The ominous idea that
soon computers will not only be compiling legal research but also making arguments is no
longer far away in future.5 Time and again computers have successfully managed to display
their efficiency at tasks performed by humans. From mastering the game of chess to beating
humans in a game of ‘Jeopardy’ such computing advancements are a testament of computer’s
potential. In fact, the computer who won ‘Jeopardy’ was an I.B.M question answering
machine named Watson, which was originally developed to help medical community to
diagnose illnesses correctly and eliminate any human limitation while diagnosing.6 This
requirement of eliminating human limitation and accuracy is equally desirable in the legal
world.7 Going by this logic, developing Watson for the legal world is just a matter of time.8

Rise in technological advancement will ease the workload for all lawyers. A lot of lawyers
and firms in the West in today’s times have started employing Artificial Intelligence
(hereinafter AI) for analysing contracts, reviewing documents in litigation or global
investigations context.9 In addition, ‘smart apps’ are being developed which are used to either
create internal efficiencies or to give advice to clients in digital format. 10 Further, lawyers in
the West are gravitating towards smart document generation and smart knowledge
management.11 Due to globalisation it will not take much time for these advancements to be

4
Thomas R. Moore, 'The Upgraded Lawyer: Modern Technology And Its Impact On The Legal Profession'
(2019) 21 University of the District of Columbia Law Review.
5
Ibid.
6
Ibid.
7
Ibid.
8
Ibid.
9
LEXISNEXIS, LAWYERS AND ROBOTS? CONVERSATIONS AROUND THE FUTURE OF THE
LEGAL INDUSTRY (2017) (comment of David Halliwell of U.K. law firm Pinsent Masons)
10
Ibid.
11
Ibid.
adopted by Indian lawyers and law firms. Once adopted, it would become imperative for
lawyers to be tech-savvy enough to develop cost-effective ways to utilize advanced
technology in legal profession. As per Susskind, lawyers who will “embrace this realignment
of the legal profession will succeed and avoid any recriminations by an emerging
technological ascendancy”.12

To be a competent professional in 21st Century, lawyers will need to acquire new skill set.
Previously valued attributes such as intellectual rigour, attention to detail, tenacity, analytical,
communication and people skills although valuable are somewhat insufficient in
contemporary times.13 As per Turner there are five core aptitudes that the next generation of
lawyers will need in order to be successful. 14 These are: a. thinking like a business person, b.
acquiring soft skills, emotional intelligence and technology skills, c. communicating one’s
knowledge, ideas and values, d. developing a personal brand and profile and e. forming
strong relationships with clients and employers.15 Thinking like a business person will open
avenues for lawyers in unconventional fields and will allow them to see latent opportunities
to bring about change. Soft skills such as emotional intelligence and technology skills will be
crucial for lawyers in 21st century to build relationships with clients. An ideal lawyer will be
able to regulate emotions in the face of uncertainty and will be able to prove himself/herself
of value to the client. Competent lawyers of 21 st century will be adept at communicating
one’s knowledge, ideas and values. In addition, he/she ought to be efficient at developing
their personal brand and profile. Further, being emotionally equipped to manage any potential
legal, financial and emotional problems of clients will allow the lawyers of 21 st century to
form valuable client relationships which will go a long way in their careers.

21st century has opened a lot of avenues for contemporary lawyers. Law as a profession is not
merely limited to litigation, law firms or academia. Lawyers these days find themselves
occupying a lot of non-conventional roles in various spaces which were not thought of
previously. One such space is art and media, a number of professions in the fields of arts and
media have opened up for lawyers. Lawyers find themselves practicing as journalists, legal
correspondent, associate publisher and marketing director among others in these two fields.
In addition, jobs have opened up in fields of finance, fund development, government
12
Supra note 4.
13
Supra note 9.
14
Ibid.
15
Ibid.
agencies, recruitment (in legal spaces), legislation/lobbying, non-profit management,
healthcare sector (especially after covid), space law and legal consultancy among others. All
these field diverge significantly from traditional spaces where lawyers used to practice
previously.

All these factors coupled with uncertainty in political realm, polarisation, awareness about
one’s rights, digitisation and globalisation have pushed lawyers to re-envision law as a
discourse as well as a profession.

PART B: STRATEGIES FOR LAWYWERS TO REMAIN MEANINGFUL,

RELEVANT, SUCCESSFUL AND ACHIEVING THEIR FULLEST POTENTIAL

Law brings structure and order to society and therefore law as a profession is such that it will
always remain relevant. However, for lawyers to remain relevant, meaningful and become
successful will have to upskill themselves significantly in 21st century.

Law as a profession is extremely demanding which means frequent burnout and neglect of
one’s mental health. A 1990 study by John Hopkins University reported that out of the 100
occupations studied, lawyers were most likely to suffer from depression and were 3.6 times
more likely than average to do so.16 Further, a study done in Florida revealed that 1 in 4
lawyers suffer from heightened feelings of psychological distress, including feelings of
inadequacy, inferiority, anxiety, social alienation, isolation and depression.17 These petrifying
numbers point towards one extremely crucial fact i.e., that lawyers in contemporary times
need to take care of their mental health. Taking care of their mental health will allow lawyers
in upskilling themselves significantly. This is so because a lawyer whose mental health is
well taken care of will be able to acquire and utilise soft skills such as emotional intelligence
and forming meaningful relationships with their clients with ease.18 In addition, such a lawyer
will be able to acquire new technological knowledge more openly and would be able to
delegate all mechanical tasks to computers while focusing on higher-value tasks.19

16
C. Stuart Mauney, The Lawyers' Epidemic: Depression, Suicide And Substance Abuse.
17
Ibid.
18
A Guide To Well-Being In The Legal Profession: 7 Tips For Sound Mental Health'
<https://lawrina.com/blog/loio-guide-to-mental-health-for-lawyers/> accessed 19 May 2022.
19
Ibid.
The contemporary times are clouded with uncertainty, polarisation and hopelessness. As per
Roberto Unger in his text titled ‘The Critical Legal Studies Movement’ there are usually three
recurring moments throughout history which alter the conscience of people and pave the way
for change.20 These are refoundation, when a new ideology settles in, normalisation when this
ideology integrates with the culture and is accepted and thirdly darkening when there is a
disjunction between ideological reality and ideological settlement. 21 Currently, we are at the
stage of darkening. The values that the Constitution holds are in clear disjunction with our
current reality. It becomes imperative for current and future lawyers to move towards
refoundation to align reality with ideology. To do the same it will be extremely important to
not be a mere technician of law or even a social engineer. Individuals in the profession of law
will have to become maximum lawyers which include upholding the Constitutional morality
and values; moving towards bringing a social revolution. This social revolution need not be
radical but can be piecemeal, gradual and experimental.

According to Roberto Unger there are three illusion of false necessities. The first of these
illusions is that only a few closed structures are available for society to adhere to. 22 The
second illusion is that current systems are indivisible i.e., there are only a few options
available if one is fed up with the current system and one system replaces the other. 23 Lastly,
some laws govern the succession of these indivisible structures. 24 These three illusions lead to
what Unger calls the “bastardise notion of political systems” and instead of challenging these
illusions, the law gives concessions to citizens to settle. 25 To put it simply, lawyers are allies
in inflicting injustice on innocent citizens. In such a scenario, it becomes imperative for
contemporary and future lawyers to break free from these false illusion of necessities. For
lawyers to do meaningful work it would become extremely important that they deviate from
their urge to give concessions to citizens through law and instead strive towards gradual,
piecemeal and experimental change.

In addition, contemporary and future lawyers will need to discard the dogmas that they have
adapted to aid the succession of indivisible structures and be true allies of justice instead of

20
Roberto Mangabeira Unger, The Critical Legal Studies Movement: Another Time, A Greater Task(2014).
21
Ibid.
22
Ibid.
23
Ibid.
24
Ibid.
25
Ibid.
the status quo. There is a need for what Baxi calls “meaningful engagement”. 26 This includes
deliberating upon questions such as who decides the content of law?, who decides the scope
of law?, what triggers the promulgation of a particular law?, what is the process of law-
making?, how much time does it take?, what is the orientation of the law i.e., where does it
move us as a society?, who are the constituents, stakeholders and actors in law making?, what
is the strategy of law-making?, what is the nature and texture of the law?, when does the
process of law making ends?, what is the role that lawyers play in law-making? Meaningful
engagement is crucial for current and future lawyers as it is the way for bringing in radical,
gradual, incremental and experimental change. It will ensure a brighter, equal, liberal,
peaceful and just future for every individual.

In addition to the above mentioned measures, cultivating empathy, non-judgemental attitude

towards clients, being emotionally intelligent, developing one’s personal brand and profile;
and being adept at technology will allow lawyers of contemporary and future times to remain
relevant, meaningful and maximising their fullest potential.

CONCLUSION

This essay attempted to present a detailed picture of lawyering in 21 st century. It first began
by listing down the factors that have pushed lawyers to re-envision lawyering in 21 st century.
These include technological advancement, need for new strategies i.e., soft skills such as
emotional intelligence, empathy and non-judgemental attitude among others; and non-
traditional spaces that have opened up for lawyers in contemporary times. In the second part,
this essay attempted to highlight the relevant skills and strategies that are needed for
contemporary and future lawyers to engage in meaningful work and to achieve their fullest
potential. These include taking care of one’s mental health which would eventually aid in
acquiring soft skills, striving towards piecemeal, gradual and experimental change, breaking
free from illusion of false necessities and lastly engaging in meaningful engagement.

26
Upendra Baxi, Outline of a ‘Theory of Practice’ of Indian Constitutionalism in the book Politics and Ethics of
the Indian Constitution, Rajeev Bhargava (ed.) (2009).
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Richard L Abel and others, 'Lawyers In 21St-Century Societies' (HART Publishing 2020)
<https://media.bloomsburyprofessional.com/rep/files/9781509915149sample.pdf> accessed 19 May 2022.

LEXISNEXIS, LAWYERS AND ROBOTS? CONVERSATIONS AROUND THE FUTURE OF THE LEGAL
INDUSTRY (2017) (comment of David Halliwell of U.K. law firm Pinsent Masons)

Upendra Baxi, Outline of a ‘Theory of Practice’ of Indian Constitutionalism in the book Politics and Ethics of
the Indian Constitution, Rajeev Bhargava (ed.) (2009).

C. Stuart Mauney, The Lawyers' Epidemic: Depression, Suicide And Substance Abuse.

A Guide To Well-Being In The Legal Profession: 7 Tips For Sound Mental Health'
<https://lawrina.com/blog/loio-guide-to-mental-health-for-lawyers/> accessed 19 May 2022.

Thomas R. Moore, 'The Upgraded Lawyer: Modern Technology And Its Impact On The Legal Profession'
(2019) 21 University of the District of Columbia Law Review.

LEXISNEXIS, LAWYERS AND ROBOTS? CONVERSATIONS AROUND THE FUTURE OF THE LEGAL
INDUSTRY (2017) (comment of David Halliwell of U.K. law firm Pinsent Masons)