Lawyers need new skills to benefit from opportunities created by market consolidation – pbbr

 The Portuguese market is changing, with one effect being that many young people in the country are now looking to create start-up businesses

Consolidation among Portuguese businesses has created a new set of opportunities for law firms, though lawyers must offer a more diverse set of skills in order to capitalise on them, says Alexandre Jardim, partner at Pbbr in Lisbon.
“Due to the consolidation process we have seen new players in the economy, such as start-ups,” Jardim comments. “A very significant movement in Portugal has been the amount of young people looking to start-up their own businesses and it will be interesting to see how this develops.”
Meanwhile, Jardim says law firms are also changing due to the crisis, consolidation, and the need to find efficiencies, “We face new challenges regarding efficiencies, including on the billing side, and also regarding how to become more effective in taking advantage of new technologies.”
Jardim argues that partners at law firms now must fulfil a number of different roles and develop a range of skills, including being a good technician, having knowledge of the law, coordinating teams effectively and being business-minded. He adds that a key challenge is transmitting this to the younger generation: “Partners have to be more effective and, to do that, you need to understand better the needs and constraints of clients.”