Posted by Colin Bohanna, UK managing director of Legal Futures Associate Dye & Durham [1]
Bohanna: Historic moment
When Dye & Durham UK first published our report, Digital Pioneers: Leading The Tech Revolution [2], in 2024, a sea change was already well underway for UK law.
We’re charting the progression of this change through original research that we will be publishing in the coming months, but the outcome is already clear: what we are seeing in the UK legal market is extraordinary change that will greatly influence how firms operate and compete for years to come.
With the rise of consultant-led and platform models, with alternative business structures (ABSs) accounting for a growing share of regulated firms, and private equity (PE) interest in legal services now an active feature of the market, we advise all in the legal sector to pay close attention.
This trifecta is the beginning of what we see as a historic moment, one in which operating expectations are shifting faster than the profession typically moves.
Those who aren’t keeping abreast may be in danger of losing their competitive edge in a new legal industry environment.
Below are some of the factors that are bringing about this change.
Remote work leading to consultancy models
It is not new to say that Covid-19 changed attitudes throughout the legal industry in relation to remote working, particularly around office ‘presenteeism’ and encouraging greater work-life balance.
What is newer, and what we see accelerating, is how that changes how legal professionals work. One of the most visible new models of working is the growth of consultant-led and fee-share firms – organisations that operate less like a single office and more like a distributed network supported by a central platform.
These new models are increasingly significant and growing in the UK market.
One report last year [3] showed how two fee-share law firms had topped the table for hiring lawyers ahead of big traditional firms, as the model continues to attract new recruits in large numbers.
This aligns with what our previous report showed. In 2024, digital fluency was already being framed as an expectation for young legal professionals: early-career professionals prefer firms that embrace digital tools and systems, and a significant proportion are open to AI in the workplace.
That effect is trickling up and law firm owners and leaders are being influenced and more open to it in a way we have never seen before.
Rather than being a ‘nice to have’ or a recruitment tool solely, in 2026 digital fluency increasingly intersects with the reality that some of the fastest-growing models in the market are underpinned by considered tech adoption, not just for convenience, but for governance, supervision, and consistency.
Changing funding types
Alongside this change in leadership styles and operating styles, a capital and funding story is emerging that is newer and likely to be one of the most influential changes in the UK legal sector over the next decades.
Research published in February 2025 showed that PE had invested nearly £1.2bn into law firms [4] over the previous five years. Having worked in SaaS, business and legal tech for the past 25 years, this is a change that I recommend all lawyers and law firms pay close attention to.
As investment and consolidation become more visible in parts of the market, expectations about operational rigour tend to spread. That will include how effectively firms use technology for reporting, operations, and staffing.
In practical terms, that usually shows up as pressure for clearer management information and oversight; repeatable processes that can survive growth; scalable onboarding (especially in consultant models); and systems that support integration rather than multiply silos.
This doesn’t mean that firms will need to adopt more technology to attract PE funding. What it will likely mean is that the next phase of digital maturity in law will be measured less by the number of tools a firm owns, and more by whether those tools create a coherent operating environment and a clear signalling of efficient business practices.
So where does that leave the Digital Pioneers story?
It began as a question of expectations: younger lawyers want firms to incorporate new digital tools and systems, and many are open to AI where it improves efficiency and experience.
It is now becoming a question of compatibility between digital fluency and the market’s operating models.
Digital Pioneers are entering and increasingly shaping a profession in which:
- Consultant and platform models are scaling and recruiting at pace in the UK;
- ABSs are a growing share of the regulated population; and
- Investor interest and ‘platform model’ language is now explicitly part of the UK legal market conversation.
Looking ahead – where the market is heading
If the last decade normalised digital tools, I suspect the next few years will raise expectations in three ways.
First, operational discipline will become more visible: consistent processes, reliable oversight, and the ability to scale without breaking what already works.
Second, firms that are trying to scale will become increasingly aware of the benefits of strong operational systems, especially as consultant and platform approaches are proving attractive to more lawyers than ever.
Third, technology fatigue will force a rethink. The firms that stand out will not be those with the most tools, but those that make technology feel easy and invisible for clients, employees and consultants, and to funders: fewer duplicated steps, fewer disconnected systems, and more time for client work.
A new era of law is coming, and that era will be underpinned by technology. For those who wish to scale and grow, or even those who wish to compete, understanding and adopting legaltech is unlikely to be optional anymore; it will be essential to their future.
Our upcoming original research and whitepaper will expand in greater detail on this evolution. To get your copy when it is released, please visit please visit here [5] or www.dyedurham.com/resources