“I think that part of the reason why, at least, a large number of lawyers are unhappy is because the work is demanding, the hours are long, and there’s a whole lot of political stuff at play in law firms and things like that. But I also think that a big part of it is that lawyers end up practising law in an area or in a niche that doesn’t align with their values. Because what happens is we go to law school, and then we graduate, and we get a job as a grad lawyer. And often we start working in an area of law that doesn’t even really interest us, but we get a job in it,” she explained.

“And then we get stuck in it because we get good at it. And just because we are good at something doesn’t mean that, from the heart, it’s aligned with us and with our values. But because we get really good at it and possibly start making great money from practising law in that area, we get stuck in it. And even though we’re really good at it, we make good money from it, we feel stuck because we don’t enjoy it. It doesn’t align with us. When it comes to providing digital legal services, it’s a really good opportunity to take stock of your range of legal services as a lawyer. And it’s a good opportunity to look at your skills and your strengths and what you’re passionate about, and actually create a digital legal service that helps you to help the people that you care about and solve a problem.”

This is something Ms King did with her firm when she began offering digital legal services — and she said she “just felt more aligned” doing so.

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“I felt like I was helping the people that I was passionate about helping. And also, when you focus on really helping the people that you’re passionate about helping, it simplifies your business. It simplifies your law firm, because all of a sudden, you’ve got a clear message around who you help and the value you provide and the result that you get. And not a lot of lawyers can do that,” she said.

“If you go and look at law firms’ websites, they talk about what they do in quite a generic, boring way. But when you’re really clear about who it is that you help, and if you’re passionate about helping them, that just comes through in everything from your website, to any of the content that you’re putting out, to the way that you’re showing up for work and talking to your clients, the way that you’re dealing with your team, all those things. I think that being really clear on who you help and the result that you get for them, and being really passionate about that, goes a long way to helping lawyers feel better about the work that they do.”

For firms who better utilise more digital ways of working, their clients will reap the benefits, according to Ms King, who said that clients were drawn to her firm early on because of both her pricing and the convenience of having an online legal service.

“When it comes to digital legal services and you’re buying online, then, having an upfront, clear price for a certain scope of work is really important. It’s one of the features of the digital legal service, and clients really, really like that price certainty, because a lot of people, they’ve been burned by a lawyer because they’ve gone there, the price hasn’t been clear, they’ve ended up with a bill that’s bigger than they were expecting. So, for clients to have price certainty, it doesn’t matter whether it’s cheap or whether it’s expensive. That’s not what it’s about. Clients care about clear, transparent pricing with a fixed scope and a fee for that scope,” she added.

“An interesting stat that I came across recently is that 70 per cent of people now expect an automated online system when dealing with a lawyer. So that’s just an expectation now. And so, why is that? And it’s really because they perceive it to be more affordable, faster and simpler. And so, in a world where we have gone through COVID and we expect everything now, we are doing everything online.”

In a world that is becoming more and more digital post-pandemic, clients want to be able to access their lawyer faster and more on-demand than ever before — as well as understand their legal service and their legal rights a lot more.

“I think a lot of people turn up to a lawyer’s office and don’t really feel comfortable asking questions about what the documents actually say or what their rights are, because a lot of people feel intimidated by lawyers, and so they won’t ask questions. Plus, it’s quite complicated. There’s often a lot of paper. With digital legal services, it’s a really great opportunity to take people step by step through different processes, using videos, guides, checklists, to really help people understand what it is that relates to their situation and what their legal rights are. So, it’s a really great way to empower clients and get them more involved in the process as well,” she said.

“A lot of clients [also] now really care about sustainability and about their carbon footprint. And so, a lot of clients want to use online because they want to reduce their carbon footprint. So, in terms of clients wanting to work with law firms, if they are consuming an online or a digital legal service, as opposed to a more traditional one, it means less time in the car, driving around to the lawyer’s office, finding a park, all of that stuff. It will mean less paper because it’s all being done digitally and electronically.

“So, there’s things that law firms aren’t really thinking about yet, but that are becoming more and more important, that are really important to clients, particularly Millennials. So, those are all great benefits that clients love about digital legal services and that more automated online service.”

Consequently, more legal tech companies are offering digital legal help or legal documents straight to consumers — and Ms King said lawyers could jump on this opportunity to offer online legal services whilst being backed by a NewLaw or digital firm.

“A lot of people buying stuff directly, like templates and things, are not getting what they want. And so, lawyers can jump on that opportunity, offer the online experience that people are crying out for, and have it backed by trustworthy, reliable legal advice that lawyers can provide that legal tech companies cannot. So, to answer your question, I think it’s important for lawyers to think, ‘okay, well, if I don’t evolve soon, my clients may leave and start using an online service somewhere else, or by a lawyer who offers an online service’. So, you need to evolve, and what a great opportunity as well, when you can offer an online experience. And there’s still few lawyers doing it. So, jumping on it now as well means you’re just that one step ahead and acquiring more clients,” she said.

“Obviously, making more money, increasing revenue and profit, efficiency, streamlining, making sure that your clients are satisfied with the legal services that you’re providing and getting them great results, these are all really important things for sure. But, if you’re not enjoying it and having a good time, life is short and we need to make the most of it every day. And a lot of lawyers are over it and fed up with what they’re doing. And that’s a shame, and I completely understand it. I’ve been there. But there is an opportunity to change that. And focusing on the clients that you love and using legal tech to help more people and to leverage your skills and to grow revenue and profit, it’s all doable. It’s just about making the decision to.”

The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Claudia King, click below: