The legal industry is steadily embracing smart technology and data management systems that improve data collection, storage, and analysis. New digital platforms designed specifically for attorneys allow professionals to connect with clients on a more personalized level. These systems speed up processes from legal research to lead generation. Here are ways that modern technology is changing the law profession.
Rising Quality of Legal Research
The keys to improving legal research quality using cloud solutions have been driven by better connectivity, faster data speeds, and machine learning applications to gather and analyze information to streamline operations. Another key has been the more profound use of analytics, helping streamline law firm operations.
The legal industry has invested over $1 billion in legal technology with about a third going toward AI solutions, according to LawGeex. AI is useful in speeding up redundant tasks with automation or digging through in-depth data to find relevant answers to legal cases. Researching the law digitally is much more practical now than going to a library. It’s also useful for researching witnesses for depositions.
Efficient and Secure Technology Drive Client Growth
These days leads can be picked up daily from developing a vast digital ecosystem using the cloud as a hub. In recent years an increasing number of law firms have joined the cloud following years of hesitation due to concerns on viability and safety. Outsourcing to third party data centers typically involves IT specialists overseeing cybersecurity.
One of the emerging solutions to protect data is with blockchain technology, which can be viewed as a chain of several locked boxes. Hackers tend to give up on blockchain since it’s too many blocks to hack.
New Laws Requiring Competence in Technology
Lawyers must be competent in not just law and practice, but in technology as well. They must follow the recently adjusted Model Rules of Professional Conduct approved by the American Bar Association. Some states are now even requiring attorneys to take mandatory continuing technology training.
Legal Technology Spreads Globally
The decision to move in the direction of cloud computing has led to improved communication with remote partners and clients. Data is kept more organized digitally than with physical documents that can get damaged, lost, or stolen.
Tech has further empowered legal news websites to deliver a more comprehensive array of news and podcasts to increasing audiences with legal interests in real-time. These innovations and improvements have contributed to a frenzy of startups jumping into the legal profession on a global level.