Skillnet helping solicitors keep up with technological advances

We constantly hear about the demise of the “job for life”. But what if you’ve only ever wanted to do one job? Chances are it will still be subject to change.

Brendan Twomey’s experience is a case in point. He qualified as a solicitor 40 years ago and spent his entire career working as one in a small Donegal town.

Now revenue sheriff for the area, Twomey started out as a solicitor in 1978 when his colleagues still dictated their letters to secretaries who had to come into the room, take down what they were saying in shorthand, then go off and type it up.

Today Twomey uses voice-recognition software to speak directly to his computer and have the words appear automatically on screen. If the software struggles with a strange-sounding local place name “I can change it myself”, he says.

Technology has transformed the way in which legal professionals communicate with clients, with one another and with the Law Library. “It has allowed us to deliver a service that is faster, more efficient and, as a result, in the long run cheaper for clients,” he says.

Balked

While some may initially have balked on the basis that cheaper for clients meant less income for them, there is now a fuller appreciation of the fact that better services lead to a bigger practice, and increased revenues, he says.

But lawyers can only do this if they keep abreast of technological – and other – innovations. It’s not just the law either. Digitisation is transforming all sorts of careers, from medicine and healthcare to accountancy and financial services.

Anyone who wants to maintain longevity in their chosen profession has no choice but to keep up. The way to do that is through continuing professional development. It’s a regulatory requirement for many professionals, including solicitors.

One of the most effective ways to achieve it is through Skillnet Ireland, the National Agency for Workforce Learning. It runs 65 Skillnet training networks for companies either in the same industry or geographic region, providing training at half the price of the open market.

All its courses are industry led, with Skillnet members requesting the training they need. Many of its courses are provided through short one- or two-day programmes.

Twomey is chairperson of the Law Society Finuas Skillnet, a solicitor-training network promoted by the Law Society of Ireland. Co-funded by Skillnet Ireland, it provides training for companies of all sizes in the legal sector and professional advisers in Ireland’s international financial services sector.

As with all Skillnet’s member companies, they work collaboratively to share best practice and respond effectively to business and skills needs.

Competitiveness

For solicitors, it helps keep their skills current, as well as keeping them abreast of regulatory or other changes likely to impact their practice. The objective is to support the growth, competitiveness and sustainability of Ireland’s legal and international financial services sectors.

As part of this, the Law Society Finuas Skillnet assists solicitor members to identify and address current and future skills needs. It provides information regarding learning and talent development, as well as advice on programmes that will enhance business innovation and sectoral competitiveness.

To stay on course in any career, you have to keep up, and the law is no different. “The days of the broad based general practitioner have changed,” he says.

The kind of work he spent most of his career doing, from conveyencing and probate to civil litigation and personal injury, have all been hugely influenced by technology, and will continue to be so. Already artificial intelligence is zipping through discovery work that would traditionally have taken a huge amount of man-hours, in seconds.

Human interaction will always be vital in the law, but so too is learning how to do things better, faster and more efficiently. “You can’t just qualify and sit back and think, now I’m a solicitor I don’t have to do anything else,” says Twomey. “Learning is lifelong. Skillnet delivers it in a way that is enjoyable, challenging and interesting.”