Written in honour of Malcolm Young, recently deceased founding member of AC/DC, there are nine references to AC/DC songs throughout this article. We will send a £20 iTunes voucher to the first person who gets in touch to tell us what they are. The forces that are driving change in the legal profession are wide and varied. The ability of law firms and individual solicitors to respond positively and innovatively to these challenges will determine who survives and prospers. Competition for new business is fierce, a dog eat dog world, one might say. Which brings us to AC/CD. Not my favourite rock band, but an acronym for Attract, Convert, Close and Delight – the four pillars of inbound marketing.

In 1950, Alan Turing asked himself, “Can machines think”? Almost 70 years later, the Turing Test remains unbeaten. But a computer that can imitate human intelligence seems just a matter of time. Today, however, AI is still in its infancy. This is especially the case in the legal world, not particularly known for its urge for technological innovation. And as is the case with new technologies, a healthy dose of scepticism is required to distinguish between hype and opportunity. The most sophisticated AI systems still produce non-intelligent false-positives and cannot understand contextual information.

There’s a growing sense of trepidation amongst the UK’s legal community with the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) coming into play in just a few months’ time. I’ve spoken to many SME law firms over the past year and, although many of them know that it’s coming, the majority don’t yet know what they need to do about it. It seems this confusion isn’t just confined to the legal profession either. I was very interested to read the findings of a recent survey by the learning provider Litmos Heroes, which found that almost 30% of UK business decision-makers say they are completely in the dark about the law changes and what they need to do to ensure their business is ready.

I met one of my favourite authors recently at a book signing. No, not the famous ‘7 Habits’ author Stephen Covey (who is sadly no longer with us) but Robert Harris, whose latest novel ‘Munich’ is set 75 years ago during the negotiation of the Munich Agreement. The novel is a fly-on-the-wall take on Chamberlain’s leadership in the face of adversity. Whether you think Chamberlain’s paper-waving declaration in Downing Street – “I believe it is peace for our time so go home and get a nice quiet sleep” – was a naïve act of appeasement or a clever tactic that won the nation a vital year to prepare for inevitable war, it makes a fascinating read. The novel got me thinking about the obvious parallels between political leaders and business leaders and how they behave in the face of adversity.

Increasingly, firms are recognising the importance of adopting and investing in technology in order to effectively compete in today’s market. Clients are also continuing to demand greater engagement with technology, and in many ways the traditional law firm model is falling behind expectations of the service industry generally. Coupled with this year’s study by Deloitte which suggests that technology is already leading to job losses in the UK legal sector, and the fact that 114,000 jobs could be automated in 20 year’s time, you really can’t afford not to take notice of the impact technology is having and will continue to have on the legal sector. Although this sounds bleak, firms should think of it as an opportunity to innovate and provide stellar service for clients. Artificial intelligence, automation, and gamification all give firms the opportunity to interact with their clients, and potential clients, in new and exciting ways, while improving efficiency and job satisfaction.