The 2021 Quebec Lawyer

Last month, the Barreau du Québec came out with a report entitled “Les avocats de pratique privée en 2021” or The private practice lawyer in 2021 (the document is available in French here). Practicing lawyers from large, medium and small law firms were consulted in the preparation of this study.

We learn that in Quebec alone, approximately 113 000 people are associated with the legal profession, either as lawyers, paralegals, notaries, stenographers, bailiffs, etc., making this report relevant for a number of people.

This one hundred plus page document provides an interesting overview of the legal private practice as we know it today, covering many issues which are ongoing concerns for many in the legal profession: the impact of information technology, questions of access to justice, the ever-growing global village and billable hours.

But what is even more interesting is the report’s predictions of the evolution of the practice in 10 years’ time. The prospective scenarios proposed by this report are based on a number of hypothetical social, economical and cultural situations, among others an ageing population, a changing socio-cultural reality due to immigration, a deepening divide between the rich and the poor, the omnipresence of IT in all sectors of society, the inability of the “welfare state” to maintain its offer of public services and goods, the feminization of the legal practice, a growing focus on quality of life, new business models, a transnational practice of law and a shift in influence from the West to the East.

The study concludes that in 2021, the Quebec lawyer will more often be a woman; indeed, 56% of the members of the Barreau du Quebec will be women, with more ethnic minorities participating in the practice. The 2021 Quebec lawyer will be bilingual. Information technology will lead to higher productivity which will allow the 2021 lawyer to have more of a work-life balance. Only part of the issues surrounding access to justice will have been solved, but the State will not have any additional budget to allocated to legal aid. International mega-law firms, while still few, will be unlike anything we have today. There will still be room for lawyers who have chosen to concentrate on the local and national realm, but they will have to have good knowledge of the newest technology available on the market and have contact with actors in all jurisdictions. Lastly, according to this prospective scenario, in 2021, the legal profession will be valued and recognized both by the whole of Quebec society and the professional world.