Technology is transforming clients’ legal needs and their expectations of law firms. Increasing investment by firms in legal and other technology, coupled with high client cost-sensitivity and intense competition within the legal sector, is leading many law firms to rethink how they charge for services.

Artificial intelligence and other new technologies will accelerate this, as law firms move from business models premised on leverage of human capital, to ones involving a mix of human and technological capital. While the US and UK have traditionally been the leaders in legal technology, important developments are emerging in China, which may become a global leader in this area.

How will these trends develop? How do we charge for ‘technology’? What timescales are involved? How should Asian law firms take account of these issues in their strategies and investment plans for the short term? What are the implications for staffing? This session will analyse the challenges and opportunities that technology brings, particularly around innovative fee structures.