Blog Post

Top 10 predictions for legal in 2019

January 4, 2019

Our predictions on what we should expect in legal and business in the New Year

Every year, Exigent likes to play at predicting the future.  Last year we predicted the Big Four would steal the show, and they did.  We are not fortune tellers, but looking at what’s coming our way and capturing the Zeitgeist is fundamental for a transformative business like Exigent, especially in an industry like legal, where change has been on the cards for years, without ever materializing in the dramatic way everyone expected.

We think legal trends in 2019 will really shake things up: not just in legal, but across the board.  The global economy is likely in for some significant changes, and the players in the legal industry are ill-equipped to deal with it.  Law firms as nimble, shrewd and business-savvy?  Not at all.  We won’t be proven wrong this year.  In-house teams must also stay alert, as those who understand money-making, especially in tough times, are coming in.  Private Equity will change the face of law this year.  Technology will hold on, with big names making waves, but data will play the real lead role.

2019 Legal Industry Predictions

Drawing from his experience in the private equity industry and almost two decades leading a global legal services provider, Exigent’s CEO, David Holme, says we will see that:

  • The legal industry will not be able to cope with what the global economy will throw at it
  • Blockchain will get real
  • Private Equity will take over the legal sector
  • The Big Four and Alternative Legal Service Providers won’t stop their relentless growth
  • One law firm will float
  • 2019 will be the year of the data democracy, so GCs who are not friends with data should be worried
  •  GDPR will continue to be a thing
  • Legal tech alone won’t save the industry, nor will ‘Legal Operations’.

So legal trends in 2019 is not just about AI–there’s so much more.  And it’s not all smooth sailing: an economic downturn; private equity taking control; blockchain’s revolutions; and the Big Four feasting on Big Law.  That’s just the beginning.

There’s no more time for timid guestimates:  Read all of David’s predictions for 2019 here.