Legal Technology, or Legal Tech as it is now known, is software and technology used by law firms or legal teams to facilitate and improve their processes. Legal Tech can be referred to as the “driver of the legal industry” in order to successfully complete the digital transformation process. The goal of Legal Tech is to simplify operations, optimize current workflows, and improve overall knowledge and information management in law firms or enterprises. Legal technology makes use of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, to provide better and more efficient legal services, as well as to help us deal with regulatory and compliance burdens more efficiently and effectively.
Legal technology is a multi billion-dollar industry. Globally, the industry generated USD 17 billion in 2019. The law and technology start-up market are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28 percent and generate USD 2.5 billion in revenue by 2025.
How Can Changes in the Legal Technology Industry Affect the Legal Profession?
Undoubtedly, advancements in the legal tech industry will benefit not only departments within such law firms, but also their overall reputation, as previously discussed. Legal firms recognize the benefits of legal technology in terms of increased productivity and cost savings.
According to a 2015 PwC report, improving the use of technology was the top priority (94 percent) in law firms the following year. However, whether this rapid advancement will allow technology to replace many aspects of a lawyer’s work is debatable. Legal technology trends include cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, legal research, and automation.
Legal Technology’s Benefits for Law Firms:
Legal technology solutions help law firms go global.
Law firms can grow and achieve geographical reach more easily with automated workflows. Legal Tech solutions provide mechanisms for industry workers to globally coordinate and control their operations.
Furthermore, technology in the legal industry improves the global outlook of law practice and assists businesses in positioning themselves in an international legal services market.
Automation
It is a well-known fact that most tasks performed by legal in-house teams are done manually. Why not delegate more important tasks to your lawyers than repetitive and routine tasks? By introducing automated solutions, more than 60% of what lawyers do on a daily basis could be automated.
Transparency
Clients nowadays want to know the cost of legal services, track the lawyer’s day-to-day progress on their case, and analyze the performance of their lawyers all in one place.
This makes sure that they do not spend more money on the case than they earn, making legal procedures more transparent.
Fewer risks
Automated technological solutions can also eliminate the possibility of human error. Even the most knowledgeable experts can misinterpret the facts, resulting in errors and further reputational and financial harm to the organization. If you combine the ability to analyze the situation from various perspectives with, say, a machine learning-based solution, the technology could be a great tool for assisting human experts in making the right decision and ensuring a fair final decision in each specific case.
Fast Data Processing
A high level of analysis can be completed in a matter of minutes with Legal Tech solutions implemented in your law firm (e.g., fast calculation, advanced reports, management of case turnover, caseload control, document management, etc.).
Rapid information processing improves the quality of legal services and frees lawyers from routine administrative tasks.
The Future of Legal Technology:
Last year, over $1.2 billion USD was invested in legal tech platforms worldwide, with $371 million USD invested in the United States of America alone. According to a Wolters Kluwer survey, while 50% of lawyers anticipate that Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and Predictive Analytics will have an impact on the industry, only 34% of businesses are prepared to keep up with the innovation. However, according to the same survey, this situation will change, as 47 percent of law firms intend to make changes and adapt their processes to accommodate new technologies. The market is gradually expanding, and with greater acceptance from legal practitioners, it will only grow stronger. The AI legal technology market was valued at $3.2 billion USD in 2018. This figure is expected to rise at a CAGR of 36% by 2026.
Conclusion:
Adoption of new technologies in the legal industry is a continuous and incremental process. Legal technology trends indicate that the industry has become very accepting of legal technology solutions (the COVID-19 pandemic boosted the adoption process greatly).
Legal technology firms assist law firms in providing more flexible services and attracting more clients. Dciruss would be delighted to assist you in advancing daily workflows, increasing transparency, storing and observing day-to-day routine tasks, and transforming your current business challenges into powerful legal tech software tailored to your specific requirements. This will help a company to convert contacts into clients.