Today Karnov Group Denmark, Norstedts Juridik and Karnov Group Norway are launching the industry report Future Lawyer 2021. The report is the largest of its kind in Scandinavia and is based on data from 3379 full time legal professionals from Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The data is gathered and analysed by the independent Swedish agency, Augur.
“It is my hope that the insights reported this year will help strengthen the legal industry, whether you are employed in the public or corporate sector or at a law firm. My hope is also that the report will serve as a source of inspiration and a springboard: What do we want the future to look like, what should be our focus, and what are the challenges we are facing?” Says Pontus Bodelsson, President and CEO of Karnov Group AB
The report covers four key areas:
- The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the legal industry
- The mental health of the legal professionals
- The development and implementation of new technology in the business
- The need for specific competencies in the future
Mental health is considered a taboo in the industry
The report shows that 62% of the Scandinavian legal professionals experience work related stress and/or anxiety. Only 9% feel that enough is being done in the industry to improve mental health and 45 % believe that mental health is a taboo.
It is clear from the report that mental health is an important topic to be discussed further in the industry.
Working from home has brought a better work-life balance but the relationship with colleagues suffers
In the survey, the legal professionals were asked how they believe the pandemic has affected the industry. There are both positive and negative consequences
42% of the legal professionals believe that their work-life balance has been positively affected, and from the open comments in the survey, it appears that this is primarily driven by the flexibility that working from home has given. The negative effects of the pandemic are centred around knowledge sharing and the relationshop with colleagues
Risk of ‘tech-washing’
In the last 2 years, legal tech has been seen as a key driver for the development of the business. In this year’s report, we see that 47% of the Scandinavian legal professionals believe that there is more talk about legal tech than actual implementation. This leads to a potential risk of ‘tech washing’, where the impression is given, consciously or subconsciously, that an organisation is further ahead technologically than it really is.
Important numbers from Future Lawyer 2021
62 % of the Scandinavian legal professionals have experienced work-related stress and/or anxiety.
45 % believe that mental health is a taboo in the industry.
Only 9 % believe that enough is being done to improve the mental health of the legal professionals.
42 % find that the pandemic has had a positive influence on their work-life balance.
66 % of all respondents find that the relationship with their colleagues has been negatively affected by the pandemic.
47 % of the Scandinavian legal professionals believe that many legal organisations talk more about integrating technology in the business than what they do.
For more information, please contact:
Karnov Group
Luise Gramkov de Kort, Head of Group PR & Branding
Telephone: +45 22 55 77 31
Email: luise.dekort@karnovgroup.com
The information was submitted for publication on 27 August 2021, at 08:00 a.m. CET.
Karnov Group is a leading provider of mission critical information in the areas of legal, tax and accounting, and environmental, health and safety in Denmark and Sweden. With brands such as Karnov, Norstedts Juridik, Notisum, Legal Cross Border, Forlaget Andersen, LEXNordics and DIBkunnskap, Karnov Group delivers knowledge and insights, enabling more than 80.000 users to make better decisions, faster – every day. With offices in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo and Malmö, Karnov Group employs around 280 people. Net sales in 2020 amounted to SEK 771 M. The Karnov share is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Mid Cap segment under the ticker “KAR”. For more information, please visit www.karnovgroup.com.
