IN recent years, the legal industry has been subjected to a host of disruptive forces that have seen a change in the way lawyers practise the law: from having to compete with new legal service providers who are non-lawyers to adopting technology in the delivery of legal services.

But lawyers are not the only ones adapting to change. Many other professions like accountants have also ventured into new and adjacent areas of opportunities such as strategy and business consultancy services. In so doing, they have made the transition to boards of listed companies as non-executive directors a relatively easy one. Likewise, leading figures from business, politics and academia have also made this transition from their professional capacities to governing on boards.

For lawyers, however, admission to boardrooms still seem to be less of a norm and where they are welcomed, it is often limited to a legal advisory role.