As we moved through 2022, our coverage chronicled the changes sweeping corporations, law firms, and tax & accounting firms and how leaders there were navigating the landscape
Throughout the past year, leaders of corporations and professional service firms, such as law firms and tax & accounting firms, have kept a finger to the wind in a year that was marked by ongoing transitional change.
Indeed, as global economies moved away from the worst of the pandemic, it seemed early on that 2022 could provide a sense of normalcy, if not a return to traditional business practices. However, the rocky shoals of the war and global economic turmoil soon put an end to that sunny thinking. Yet many professional service firms and their corporate counterparts in the US and around the world found ways to remain profitable, resilient, and forward-thinking enough to allow some positive direction as we all head into 2023.
The Thomson Reuters Institute, through its blog posts, podcasts, market reports, and in-depth analysis, has chronicled many of the changes that swept through the last year, offering insights into how many organizations are adapting and what solutions are being successfully utilized.
If there were trends to discern in this very busy year, it was that twin issues of talent and technology implementation were impacting corporate departments and professional service firms to a greater degree as the year went on. And some of the most-read pieces on the blog site reflected that. For example, one piece that was very widely received described the different power skills that allow employees to flourish in new hybrid work environments; also, the changing regulatory stance toward the practice of law, especially around whether non-lawyers can own law firms, was of keen interest to our readers.
Further, many law firms, government agencies, tax & accounting firms, and corporate departments were beginning to grasp that the technology needed to meet the growing demands of the digital economy was of paramount importance. Indeed, as we moved toward the end of 2022, it was clear that technology adoption and maximizing its use simultaneously was among the biggest challenges and most promising opportunities that organizations are facing going forward.
Key market reports & in-depth podcasts
Throughout the year, it was the goal of the Thomson Reuters Institute to bring together people from across the legal, corporate, tax & accounting, and government communities and ignite conversation and debate in order to shed some insight on the newest industry developments and the most critical opportunities and challenges market participants are experiencing.
You can explore our top trending Thomson Reuters Institute insights that shaped 2022, or you can relive some of our highlights from this year here. And for further coverage of the legal, tax & accounting, corporate, and government sectors, visit the Thomson Reuters Institute.
We did this in part by providing coverage of these topics on the Thomson Reuters Institute blog site — such as podcasts, videos, and key market reports — and by hosting world-class events, which kicked off in Amelia Island at our 29th Annual Marketing Partner Forum, which brought together global law firm leaders and the best strategic thinkers from around the world to discuss the steep challenges facing firms in the legal market; and continued in New York City with our 21st Annual Law Firm COO & CFO Forum, along with many more in-person and virtual events throughout 2022.
As our reach expanded over the year — the Thomson Reuters Institute blog site reached more than 1 million annual page views this year for the first time in its history — our coverage expanded as well. We created two new resource centers on the site, to accompany those dedicated to covering the legal, tax & accounting, corporate, and government areas. Our new resource centers — Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) and Technology & Innovation — allow us to offer readers dedicated content and insight into those areas.
Throughout the year, the blog site offered a steady stream of analysis and market insight reports that shed light on what participants in the legal, tax & accounting, and corporate fields were experiencing in their respective marketplaces in today’s economy. For example, in the 2022 Report on the State of the Legal Market, we saw that the legal market has remained resilient, even though numerous key challenges remain for many law firms, including a hot market for legal talent that has driven up costs. Even so, the report showed that many law firms have managed the difficult market with a good level of success last year.
On the other side of the table, our reports on corporate law departments and corporate tax departments shed further light on the immense pressure these departments were under from their corporations to transform the way they operate, with special emphasis on working more efficiently and cost-effectively. Indeed, coming out of the pandemic, it appears the dramatic changes undertaken by corporations during that time — especially around talent management and adopting new technology — may only be the beginning.
Also, our series of twice-monthly Insights podcasts offered in-depth discussions throughout the year on topics ranging from the viability of the new cryptocurrency economy to the most common misconceptions in the legal industry around artificial intelligence, and from how financial institutions were managing Russian sanctions to how organizations can benefit from client feedback programs.
Now, as we move into 2023, the Thomson Reuters Institute will continue offering insight into the latest events and trends, bringing leaders together, and mapping out the opportunities and challenges facing corporations and professional service firms going forward.