Legal technology professionals and managers have a lot they can be grateful for this year. While the pandemic isn’t exactly over, the days of lockdown and isolation seem to be gone and most law firms and professionals have found a new normal for their work life. Our team put together a few things we can be thankful for this year:
1. Conferences are Back
ILTACON, Relativity Fest, and other conferences have returned this year giving legal technology professionals opportunities to network and receive continuing education. These events are a great way to meet other people in the industry and learn from experts about legal technology trends and best practices for your individual professional benefit, as well as your team’s.
2. Hybrid Remote Work Opportunities are Abundant
According to a recent survey on work arrangements, 17% of employees with a bachelor’s degree or more education work fully remote, 42% work in a hybrid arrangement, and 41% are fully on-site. While there remains a gap in employer and employee preferences, prior to the pandemic less than 5% of the working population was working from home regularly. The growth in remote work and specifically the implementation of hybrid work arrangements is a win-win for Law Firms and Legal Technology employees.
3. Face-to-Face Interactions can Improve Work Culture
While the majority of employees want to work at least a few days a week from home, they are also enjoying the social benefits of being back in the office. 80% of people want to see their colleagues when they’re in the office which may be a response to feelings of isolation and a decreased quality of relationships with coworkers. While being in the office doesn’t automatically fix issues of isolation or siloed work efforts, managers can take advantage of having their teams in the office to have face-to-face meetings, team lunches, and other intentional activities to improve morale and engagement.
4. Law Firms Value Legal Tech
When the pandemic started, many firms were not prepared for remote work. Since 2020, not only has the need for technology to allow for remote work become a bare minimum requirement for many firms, but firms have also identified metrics to evaluate legal technology. This is great for managers and CIOs who can use these metrics to demonstrate the need for new team members or new technology implementations in 2023.
5. A Healthy Legal Tech Job Market
We’ve witnessed first-hand growth in the legal technology job market this year. Our job activity has increased by 20% and our placement success rate is up 50% in 2022 compared to the same time period in 2021. A healthy job market isn’t just good news for legal IT professionals looking for a new job, it can also benefit those looking for an internal promotion or a raise. Employers also benefit from a healthy job market for legal IT: hiring new people brings new ideas and personalities to your team which can lead to innovation and success. Plus, you’re likely to interview more quality candidates than during less healthy job markets.
6. We’re Here to Partner with You
Not to toot our own horn, but ESP Legal is grateful to be a trusted partner of law firms growing their technology staff and IT and eDiscovery job seekers eager to improve their careers. Working with a company like ESP Legal makes hiring and job searching easier because we advocate for both our clients and candidates, vet job opportunities and candidates alike, and help facilitate effective and timely communication between both parties. If you’re looking for a new hire or a new job this year, we’re here to help.
