Aims and Objectives of the Project

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The project will provide data that will produce a better picture of the state of innovation in the Australian legal profession than is currently available. By examining patterns of innovation across the Australian legal profession the research will identify:

• Key drivers of innovation in the Australian legal profession, for example, clients, suppliers such as legal software providers or internal research and development
• Areas of innovation, for example, in pricing, service delivery, firm organisation, marketing, strategy or business processes
• Distribution of innovation, for example, in big established firms, small established firms, small, newer firms or widespread
• Degrees of innovation, for example, efficiency oriented without restructuring business model or radical change of business model
• Impacts of innovation in the market on law firms and their behaviour

By assessing the drivers of innovation, and the breadth and depth of innovation, the legal profession will be better able to determine whether the profession is in a state of disruptive innovation, and if it is, to make more informed decisions as to how to maximise efficiency while protecting client interests, the rule of law and the interests of the profession overall.  Policy makers will also be better armed with information that may assist them determine how best to shape regulation of the legal profession in relation such matters as intersecting regulation of the profession across global jurisdictions and fiduciary responsibilities in light of the automated delivery of legal services where there is no lawyer-client communication.

The project will also compare the state of innovation in the Australian legal profession on a State by State basis and also characterise the type of firm and type of innovation being pursued.

The project will not only provide better understanding of innovation in the Australian legal profession but it will also add to the body of knowledge about innovation more generally in knowledge intensive business services. Comparing data collected through the project with data collected from previous studies will help determine whether the legal profession is on a unique trajectory or whether lessons might be learned from the experience of transformation in other knowledge intensive business service industries.