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Look into the future: Your legal career looks like this

Jordan Furlong, Legal Strategist: The future of legal services

In this eye-opening episode, Legal Industry Analyst Jordan Furlong reveals how law firms can thrive in a tech-driven future by restructuring their business models and embracing AI, challenging the outdated billable hour system. Discover why the key to success lies in valuing client relationships and enhancing productivity through innovative approaches rather than merely adding more lawyers.

Jordan is an incredible legal sector strategist, and I am incredibly proud to bring him to our African legal sector audience. I am yet to meet a better a strategist in the world.

Follow him on jordanfurlong.substack.com

He is a strategic consultant to legal organisations in Canada and the United States, a forecaster and analyst (not so easy for me to say!) of trends and developments in the global legal market, and an author, speaker, commentator, and expert in the field of legal services evolution.

He’s spent the past 20 years studying critical new developments and discerning emerging patterns in the legal services ecosystem.

He uses these insights to advise legal organisations on how to plan their strategies and achieve their goals.

His website is here

https://www.law21.ca/

He also has the most amazing SubStack that everyone reading this article, must subscribe to.

We spend close to an hour discussing the following:

00:00 Intro to Jordan

03:20 We are already in the future

04:15 Every law firm can restructure to maximise their growth and revenues

05:30 The unit of lawyer

06:20 Understanding growth, the 3 dimensions of growth

07:20 Add capacity, not just more lawyers

08:50 The only recruiter in the world that says you don’t need to hire

10:10 The rise of AI Agents

12:05 Significantly increase productivity through tech

13:00 Law firms need to stop measuring hours

13:55 How are we best servicing our clients?

15:15 Some lawyers just can’t see past the billable hour

16:50 Uncertainty of value for the client has to stop

17:50 Productivity measurement is coming to law, whether they like it or not!

19:00 Selling the experience

20:00 Price the relationship

22:10 You are a business consultant

23:05 What does it mean to the client to lose time?

24:10 Billing by the hour actually undervalues your work

25:05 The lawyer will have to share the risk in the future

26:20 Jordan’s article

Jordan Furlong
Advocate, advise, and accompany
The range of possible outcomes from Generative AI’s entry into the legal sector covers a wide spectrum, with two straw men anchoring the extreme endpoints…
Read more

28:15 The value of communication, empathy, capacity, and productive = success

29:00 What do we tell law students?

31:00 In-House tech adoption is different across the world

33:00 AI is affordable…and incredibly necessary to all lawyers

36:00 The org chart, for a law firm of the future, is the Reverse Pyramid

37:00 The gig economy/fractional working impact on law firms and legal teams

Check out www.umbiie.com

38:30 The old leveraging model is dying

41:00 The most valuable skill is building relationships with clients

43:00 AI will be the new Trainer

43:30 You only need 5 clients - Check out www.umbiie.com

47:00 Final thoughts for Africa’s legal leaders and business owners

49:20 I am a catalyst for growth, for everyone

50:20 Catalyst for productivity

52:10 Thank you Jordan