Thomson Reuters held a webinar last year on their report titled 2022 Australia: State of the Legal Market . During the discussion, presenters stated that the word to encapsulate 2023 for the legal industry would be ‘uncertainty’. As the report itself shows, the Australian legal market has been resilient over the past few years, but the new year brings new challenges as the market has experienced, “…new uncertainty over inflation, international conflict, and deep shortages of legal talent”. So, what are some of these challenges and what approach can firms take to be prepared to address them?
Cyber security
While this has been a topic of concern for many businesses in recent years, 2022 brought it further to the forefront of people’s minds with the large-scale data breaches experienced by Medibank and Optus infiltrating mainstream media. Last November the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) released their Annual Cyber Threat Report for July 2021 to June 2022, finding that throughout the last financial year reports of cybercrime had increased nearly 13 per cent year-on-year, equating to one report every 7 minutes.
These figures should be cause for concern, but there is no need to panic. As the ACSC report states, “Australia’s best defence in a rapidly evolving cyber threat environment is to build resilience across businesses and organisations, and among individuals.” The best way to build resilience, especially when it comes to cyber security, is to ensure you have the appropriate training and technology to put up the best defence. Whilst this is just one piece of the puzzle, these preventative measures will assist in safeguarding your firm in an increasingly less secure world.
Collaboration workspaces
When you hear the words ‘collaboration workspaces’ you might first think of the shared, flexible workspaces that gained popularity in the mid-2000’s. In 2023, collaboration workspaces mean the seamless communication and cooperation amongst individuals to successfully achieve a shared goal. This may seem like an aspiration that teams have been trying to attain for years, but with more flexible workplaces becoming the norm, focussing on cohesive collaboration is even more imperative for a harmonious work environment.
One way that firms are fostering collaboration is through greater transparency and facilitating more effective communication. Hugh Griffin, Managing Partner, and co-founder of boutique law firm Hazelbrook Legal, recently spoke to InfoTrack about this, “At Hazelbrook, we foster a passion for commerciality and our juniors are brought into commercial and strategic discussions from the very start. We also have a clear and transparent framework and pathway for training, development and progression which has been drawn from our collective knowledge and experience.”
However, collaboration workspaces also encapsulate how team members initiate two-way communication for real-time collaboration, which can be achieved by using digital innovations . Lee Bailie, InfoTrack’s Head of Property Australia, spoke at the 2022 Australasian Legal Practice Management Association Summit on this topic, "technology should not be feared but viewed as an enabler that helps your firm to build stronger relationships, whilst providing ease of mind and increased flexibility for greater client satisfaction." For a truly collaborative workspace, it’s integral to have a culture of transparency supported by digital innovations that enable free-flowing communication.
Employee Wellbeing
Recruitment and staff retention continues to be one of the biggest challenges that firms face into this new year. Therefore, it makes sense that if firms are not already considering their employees wellbeing, it’s time to make it a priority. As HR Leader recently reported employee wellbeing is front and centre in 2023, and in a highly competitive employment market – prioritising wellbeing is one way to strengthen employee loyalty and trust, whilst naturally increasing retention rates.
Daniel Ko, Head of People and Culture at InfoTrack, states in Destigmatising mental health in the workplace there are several ways to approach employee wellbeing. “We are proud to support our InfoTrack employees in seeking help by working to maintain a mentally healthy workplace. Not only are we pleased to offer several mental health initiatives such as flexible working arrangements, providing healthy food options in each of our offices, a free gym membership for each member of our team, regular catch ups and check ins with management; we also provide our people with ‘Be Me Days’ which are additional leave days that allow our people to spend time on things that are important to them such as connecting with their families, charity work or having a mental health day. Our leadership team are also strong advocates for our Employee Assistance Program. To reduce the stigma associated with reaching out for help we held a week’s worth of mental health initiatives during the week of RUOK? Day. At one of the events three members of our Executive team shared their individual experiences with the EAP program and championed the value of the service and the benefits of reaching out for help when you need it.”
