It’s kind of a traditional thing to do- look at what we think lies ahead for law firms in 2024. So, like a legal sector version of Mystic Meg I’m going to gaze into my crystal ball and share some thoughts.

Many of the likely issues and opportunities will fall into the technology sphere.

There will be a continued focus on Artificial Intelligence and its potential applications. I suspect that those firms who embrace and carefully explore its utilisation will see real benefits- at the very least I suggest firms should continue to learn about it and as a bare minimum should seek to stay aware of what their competitors are doing.

The use of AI by ‘bad actors’ will be a further challenge- the continued threat of cyber attack will be there, but with the added problem that the baddies will be using AI to make their efforts more sophisticated and more voluminous. Many cyber specialists say it’s not a question of ‘if’ your firm gets attacked, but ‘when’. So, I’d say firms should consider their vulnerabilities- look at your cyber policies, look at your staff training, and (I would say this wouldn’t I?) consider using specialists for fundamental areas of risk- such as your finance functions!

The world of Practice Management Systems has been volatile and will continue to be so, as conglomerates who now hold several systems start to focus on getting a return on their investments, and as new entrant systems providers also come into play. We are system agnostic, so we support whatever system the law firm is on- this means we have seen pretty much every system out there and we have also seen a trend in late 2023 of firms moving to newer systems to gain benefits of speed and efficiency amongst other things. I expect this will continue.

Finally- we live in an increasingly complex world from a geo-political standpoint if nothing else. One of the biggest challenges for firms has always been uncertainty- what services will their own clients be looking to buy? Will the property market continue to fluctuate? What regulatory or tax changes will be brought in as we head into an election year? If I really did have a crystal ball (and a velvet cape no doubt) I’d say the only thing certain is there will be a constant need for change and so the firms that succeed will be those who think fluidly and understand that agility is key.

 

Alex Holt, Chief Revenue Officer, The Cashroom

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Cashroom provides expert outsourced accounting services for Law Firms including Legal Cashiering, Management Accounts and Payroll services. Our mission is to free lawyers from the complexities of legal accounting by supporting the industry with accurate management information and allowing lawyers to do what they do best – practice law.

‘The Cashroom have been an integral part of MBM from their inception. They has supported the growth of MBM from a small firm of 15 people all the way to the 70+ partners and staff now working in the firm. I have first hand experience of the wealth of skill employed within the business and the cashiering knowledge is unrivalled. The fluid ability of Cashroom to adapt to the changing requirements of a firm on a daily basis, as well as the ability to cover holiday periods seamlessly would be a benefit to any law firm. The Cashroom portal provides a first class workflow system for all cashiering requests and, more importantly, provides the level of security that email instructions do not. Cashroom provide both a cost effective fully outsourced service that can deliver almost everything that an internal finance team would be charged with, as well as a wraparound service to support an internal finance team.’ 

Stewart MacBride
Finance Director, MBM Commercial LLP
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