We have been talking with a number of law firms lately and have found some interesting trends that are emerging. They are going through some major changes now in the way they view their workplaces.

Plus: Top 5 law firm trends you didn’t see coming | Why Millennials matter

Here’s the first of a series:

Demographics in Autralian law firms

So, this means it will become harder and harder to become a partner and the next generation, Gen Y, will have to wait longer to make partner. Gen Y, and particularly the Millennials, are used to great, seamlessly integrated technology and flexibility; they probably don’t expect an office when they eventually progress to partner.

Millennials will probably never have sat at a permanent desk in their life, but they will have been educated in schools with ubiquitous Wi-Fi and great presentation technology. They’ll also be used to doing their work with colleagues and teachers on collaboration platforms like Edmodo.

The challenge for law firms in the future will be how to keep this generation engaged as they enter the workforce. To do this, the new law workplace will have to provide:

Find out more about how workplace strategy can help create an authentic workplace. For more insights and discussion, follow our Colliers Collaboration page on LinkedIn.

As National Director of Workplace Strategy and Design for Colliers International in Australia, Peter is a workplace strategist and qualified architect with over 25 years’ experience in workplace and base building design, working with clients ranging from Bauer Media Group, AT Kearney, Ricoh, ANZ Bank and Citrix.