FUTURE LAW JOBS: A New Frontier

 

FUTURE LAW JOBS: A New Frontier


Changing technology, changing perceptions, changing moralities, and changing societal norms and behaviour trigger a change in many things inter-linking all of these changes. Law is one such inter-linkage. Law as a discipline requires roles that enable its practice, and its compliance. Some of such newer imagined roles are discussed below as future law jobs that might arise with the advent of this continuous churn. The list is not exhaustive and I shall be updating this space for newer imagined law jobs.


ETHICS OFFICER


An Ethics Officer (“EO”) inter alia may be responsible for developing and distributing codes of ethics, developing training programs for employees, and monitoring and auditing compliance with government regulations. The EO may also administer punishments for violation of ethical codes of conduct. The aforestated code of ethics might cover varied ground. From Organizational Ethics, to Business Communication Ethics, from Pricing Ethics, to Data Ethics.

Organizational Ethics is a field that deals with a range of categories such as individual(s), team(s), stakeholder(s), management, leadership, human resources, group(s) interaction(s), as well as the psychological framework behind each area. However, there are certain key elements to OE such as (1) existence of a written code of ethics and standards (Ethical Code); (2) ethics training for executives, managers, and employees; (3) the availability of ethical situational advice (i.e. advice lines or offices), and (4) confidential reporting systems.

Business Communication Ethics is a field that deals with actions of a business vis-à-vis customers, employees, or other businesses. It may now also deal with ethical marketing in the backdrop of data privacy norms set forth in law.

Pricing Ethics includes compliance with pro-competitive legislation that is enacted to encourage competition, and prevent activities that restrain trade, and prevent the establishment of monopolies, inequitable pricing practices, abuse of dominance, and reduce or restrict competition in any way so prescribed.

Data Ethics includes ethical data use compliance with business standards or legal standards or both, formulated to dealing with customer data, business data, etc. as a result of privacy laws, competition laws, and consumer laws.

It is also pertinent to note that Environmental Ethics is another rapidly growing field of corporate ethics in these times of global warming. Ensuring compliance with national and international environmental laws is the new ethical yardstick. Now doing more than the law requires is just an added bonus for those corporations that intend to make the list of most green.

These days investment in view of how a company ranks on various global ethics rankings has become pertinent. Many mutual funds invest in green and sustainable companies, also known as Socially Responsible Investment (SRI)1. Additionally ESG (Environmental, Social and Government) Funds are also gaining traction such as SBI Magnum Equity ESG Fund, Quantum India ESG Equity Fund, and Axis ESG Equity Regular Growth. E or Environment stands for corporate focus on the green and eco-friendly landscape, that may be through efforts such as focus on water and energy conversation, green energy sourcing, effective waste disposal process, and steps in reducing carbon emission. S or Social stands for corporate role in overseeing the well being of its employees as well as the larger society, through inter alia giving importance to aspects such as staff welfare, pay parity, gender equality, etc. G or Governance stands for that aspect of corporate governance which considers all such aspects such as compliance with regulatory bodies, grievance resolution, ethical conduct, etc. It is the overall ethical health of a company.

Hence an EO would be responsible for any or all the aforestated compliances. Thus role of an EO is likely to continue to increase given the increasing proximity between companies and their customers. In this new activism-heavy corporate world, the EO would hold a role similar to the modern CSR Manager, but would operate such that no officer is above the scrutiny of the EO.

The role would be defined in the light of a corporation’s purpose and stature, and the role would also define the purpose and stature of a corporation!


TRUST OFFICER


Fake news is nothing new. However, technology has hastened the spread of fake news inundating the audience with misrepresentations, exaggerations, and outright lies, mostly towards sinister and/or profiteering ends. Search for the truth is now akin to searching for a needle in a haystack of fake needles! We are in a crisis of trust, no longer knowing who or what to believe. It is a new era, the Post-Trust Era.2 Adani stocks fell largely due to this fake news and speculative reporting in the week starting June 14, 2021.3 Hence Trust has already become the backbone of a corporation’s goodwill and market credibility, especially as the age of “Fake News” seems here to stay. As such, it doesn’t seem too far-fetched to appoint a dedicated officer, a Trust Officer (“TO”), to manage and handle the Trust element of a corporation and its brands. The TO would be responsible for ensuring that customers know they can Trust the corporation with their loyalty, private data, savings, secrets, loved ones, etc. Right from IPOs, to product launches, to the overall reputation and market capitalization, fake news and deep fakes can disrupt markets, and skew competition. They are the new manipulative tools of the future that is already here.

A TO would be responsible for (1) communication and clarification of reality, (2) removal of cognitive biases by considering diverse viewpoints, and possibilities, (3) creation of transparent communication within a corporation and with its customers by newsletters, and updates, (4) establishing Truth Ambassadors within the corporation and outside that have a direct hotline with the concerned / relevant directors or the CEO for addressing concerns of employees and customers alike, and (5) ensuring a single source of truth by choosing a medium of communication to the exclusion of others4.


PERSONAL DATA REPRESENTATIVE


Personal data security, privacy and data use for analytics is all the rage since the birth of Google that has made its might on the shoulders of consumers. We can dream of corporations paying us in cash or kind for use of our personal data to better their business performance. Much like Google Rewards. Would this bring back a sort of fairness to the economy. May be, may be not. But a Personal Data Representative (“PDR”) is an imperative. A PDR would be a role to legally represent the entirety of someone’s data, and invest it in the right databases to get its customers better returns. It would be in the PDR’s best interest to make sure no one uses its customers’ data without legitimate interest or consent, making the role doubly useful. Much like a performing rights society or copyright society. The PDR would facilitate a basic framework for the portability of data, and increasing anti-trust interest these days. The PDR might also be responsible to the customers’ right to be forgotten, and its enforcement, and compliance. Depending upon the data laws of a jurisdiction, the PDR would operate within such legal bounds, and also in a complimentary manner to provide for the lacunae of law.


1Eg.: Parnassus Core Equity Investor, Jensen Quality Growth Fund Class J (JENSX), American Funds American Mutual Fund Class F-1 (AMFFX), MainStay Large Cap Growth Fund Class A (MLAAX), ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Fund Class A (SBLGX), New Alternatives Fund Class A (NALFX), Fidelity Select Environment and Alternative Energy Portfolio (FSLEX).

2A term coined by Shiv Singh and Dr. Rohini Luthra in their book, Savvy: Navigating Fake Companies, Fake Leaders and Fake News in the Post-Trust Era (2019, Ideapress Publishing).

3See https://www.domain-b.com/companies/companies_a/Adani_group/20210621_rout.html

4Some corporations use Twitter, others Instagram or Facebook or even WhatsApp for such communications of truth.

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