Challenges for Individual Lawyers To Face In 2020

With more and more people being aware of the legal profession and opting for this field, there is a tremendous increase in the competition faced by the lawyers and law firms and thus bringing forth a lot of challenges for the future generation of lawyers. It is not a big deal to find at least 100 lawyers having expertise in the M&A sector. The way we practice law, the way we brand ourselves, the way we make, and handle clients all add and create a significant difference. There are a constant decrease and fragmentation in institutional relation. The way we cater to the demand and fulfill the expectation is also of great concern.

The person who practices individually and is recorded in the Indian Bar Council faces far more challenges than the law firms. The law firms always have a better opportunity and better experience to win the race. The contacts of the law firms are superior in comparison to an individual lawyer. Here, today we will be discussing various challenges of being a lawyer.

CHALLENGES:

There is no denial of the fact that the technology is growing at a swift pace which makes the information available to a client easy which in turn increases the expectation from a lawyer. Since with the help of technology, they now understand the legal problem but not the solution and hence bombard the advocate to come up with the legal solution or advice at the earliest.

This development has two sides to it. Advancement in technology can help lawyers portray their potential like never before and open chances for new clients. It will also help create a pool of resources.

COST BEING A MAJOR TOOL:

An individual lawyer is often expected to charge less than that of a law firm or any other counsel, which makes survival difficult if that is a potential client and you do not want to lose the client. Similarly, when there are too many people(lawyers) out there offering the same service to provide it at a minimalistic price, it creates a vacuum that is difficult to cross.

GLOBAL COMPETITION:

With India growing constantly and opening doors for new opportunities. The contesting candidates have also increased and thus making it difficult to make a stand. Even in the field of arbitration, now international arbitrators can act in cases where any international issue is so involved.

Also, when major law firms have opened up and extended their work profiles to international clients. The preference given to individual lawyers is declining in this stiff competition. And the financial expenses incurred for practicing may not be worth it.

NEW REGULATIONS:

With the change being the only constant, it becomes difficult to keep pace with it. With technological improvements, the government is enacting new regulations that are altering the existing practices. These are projecting to change even more in the future, as cybersecurity is constantly under attack and requires ongoing monitoring. This will, in turn, bring newer and newer regulations and it will be a big challenge to face this.

GETTING NEW CLIENTS:

Because the expert lawyers and law firms dominate the market, those just starting out and first-generation lawyers may have a tough time finding a potential client. To avoid such circumstances, no fresh graduate starts individual practice. They prefer working under some law firm or experienced clients, where they gain experience and make contacts and eventually start individually.

TIME MANAGEMENT:

With being the only person working and a significant number of clients, it becomes difficult to handle and keep track of everything. And time management and timeliness are the least common attributes these days. This problem exists since the beginning and will persist until the individual changes his or her situation.

BEING PERCUSSIVE AND HANDLING THE PRESSURE:

It is important for an individual lawyer to know his language and control his stubbornness and make the client understand softly and politely. Another trait would be being expertise and a knowledge bank by oneself. A law firm has numerous people having expertise in different sectors. In an individual lawyer, there is no dependency on anyone, everything is self-made, so the pressure is difficult to handle.

Read Also: Reasons Law Firms Becoming Very Important These Days

CONCLUSION

Growth and rising to the top are the dreams for every professional. To be a successful and well-known individual lawyer in society, however, one must meet the challenges successfully. For which the most important thing is knowing the field of expertise and making excellent contacts.