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 which faced by the lawyers and law firms and thus bringing forth a lot of challenge for the future generation 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.

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 potentials 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 advancements, the government has started placing new regulations which have changed the existing practices and are expected to change even further as cybersecurity is under constant threat and needs to be under scrutiny. This will, in turn, bring newer and newer regulations and it will be a big challenge to face this.

GETTING NEW CLIENTS:

With the market being dominated by experienced lawyers and law firms, the people starting fresh and first-generation lawyers may find it extremely difficult to find a potential client for themselves. 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 punctuality are the least found traits these days, and the problem exists from the start and will continue until the individual improves this prospect.

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, and 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. However, the challenges need to be adequately met to be a successful, renowned, and respected individual lawyer in society. For which the most important thing is knowing the field of expertise and making excellent contacts.