On November 17, 2017, the International Bar Association (IBA) held its annual conference in London, dedicated to the law firm of the future. Conference speakers and panelists gathered to discuss what future is in store for law firms, and shared their thoughts and ideas on what they will be like in 5-10 years.

Managing Partner Vladislav Zabrodin spoke at one of the sessions, titled “What is the ‘shape’ of the law firm of the future?” The crisis has forced companies to cut expenses, and now some are seriously considering transferring staff to remote work. Are law firms ready for ‘hot desking’? How can law firms change the concept of their offices, considering the growing real estate prices? These and other questions were answered in Vladislav’s presentation.

Other conference topics:

• Innovation in law firms: what is it, what is and isn’t working? What are the newest technologies available to law firms? What can we expect to emerge in the next three-five years?
• Artificial intelligence: what is real and what is not? Will robots eventually take over legal work completely? What do we need to build into our strategic thinking and what can we safely ignore?
• How will we use ‘offices’ and what is the future for office space design
• A panel of general counsel concentrating on what innovations they want to see from law firms