The gig economy has made huge strides in recent years, particularly in North America (59 million workers) and Europe (28 million workers), with over 1 billion gig workers estimated worldwide.
But when you hear about the gig economy, what does that mean to you? Uber drivers? Food delivery drivers, freelance designers?
Admittedly, they do make up many gig economy workers in the world. But how about lawyers?
Traditionally, there has existed a "locum solicitor" who would operate on a freelance basis for law firms. But this brings up images of high street law firms from the 1970s and 80s looking for a retired lawyer to fill in for a few months and act as a general practitioner to advise on conveyancing, wills, and the odd criminal proceedings.
But the profiles of lawyers today who are available on a flexible retainer basis, or "legal nomads" as I like to call them, are likely to be:
1. In their 30s or 40s, or at the higher end, in their mid to late-50s 2. Trained and qualified in a major commercial law firm 3. Undertaken at least 10,000 hours of work in their specialised practice area 4. Majoring as an expert in at least one commercial practice area of law 5. Have a significant amount of in-house legal experience and thus greater commercial understandings of how businesses work 6. Be technologically savvy (yes, they can type their own emails, markup their own documents and make a document comparison all by themselves!) 7. Faster, more agile than their locum counterparts of years gone by
Organisational Challenges
Of course, there are still many organisational perception-challenges that need to be overcome. Below are the three most common hurdles.
1. It's not yet common standard practice
Working from home was not considered widespread practice until 2020. So, common standards in any work environment can change.
Companies often only hire a law firm to handle a specific matter, such as advising on a dispute, or to advise them on a loan or credit facility, or to advise them on a sale of a business and/or assets. But there are so many companies with no in-house counsel who simply don't have their "house in order" when it comes to an effective filing system of legal documents.
2. Opportunity-cost benefit
Some law firm clients have expressed concern about the cost of training a lawyer to adapt to their systems proportionate to the time that is spent working for them. In other words, "there's no point, they'll leave after a couple of months anyway".
This doesn't consider the fact that a suitably qualified lawyer with relevant experience in that practice area would be able to hit the ground running after just two days' induction and can be an integral member of the team in a very short space of time.
3. The flight risk
The majority of qualified lawyers in the gig economy are there through choice, not to use as a steppingstone to a permanent role. They like that flexibility and ability to choose which gig to take on.
The Gig Economy Will Only Grow in Asia
1. Compliance and regulations are going global
Among many large organisations in Hong Kong, particularly in the financial services sector, we detect a large amount of interest and pent-up demand for not just lawyers but also compliance professionals in the gig economy.
2. Changing demands of the next generation of lawyers
The year 2021 saw the term "Great Resignation" introduced into our everyday vernacular. Countless surveys show millennials have a much different perception about their careers, work-life balance, and working cultures.
3. Innovation and technology will drive the legal gig economy
The foundation of legal technology exists with legislation, case law and other legal resources being available online. With these strides in technology to make businesses more efficient and productive, it will make hiring gig workers in the legal and regulatory field even more economic and business sense.
Conclusion
It seems that the barrier to the development of the legal gig economy is more a question of mindset of key decision-makers over reality. The conditions are ripe to help facilitate and drive growth in this sector, not just in Hong Kong, but across the Asia region.