Technology is changing how everyone does business, and the same is true in the legal profession. Whether you work in personal injury, contracts, real estate, or another field, below are several ways technology is changing the legal field.
More Legal Technology Spending
A 2020 Gartner survey of legal leaders found that the amount of legal budgets spent on technology will increase dramatically by 2025. And of the law firms surveyed, 87% said they would keep their number of in-house employees the same or even reduce the number.
Legal leaders say during the pandemic, more law firms invested in technology and were able to increase productivity with the same number of workers. It’s clear that investing in software development and purchasing new technology can improve efficiency in law offices around the country and drive value.
Automation of Legal Document Management
As most lawyers know, a lot of time must be dedicated to creating and managing all kinds of legal documents. A recent McKinsey & Company study found that about ¼ of this work could be automated with the right mix of technical solutions.
There is a rise in the number of software products available that can automate the management and creation of legal documents. As these solutions become more advanced, we think many repetitive tasks in the legal profession will also be automated. This means that lawyers and paralegals can spend more of their time on billable work instead of administrative tasks.
More Hybrid And Remote Work Arrangements
After more than two years of the pandemic, it’s clear that remote work in the legal field isn’t temporary: It’s the way business will be done today and in the future. Many lawyers say that remote work has been beneficial for the legal profession, noting that profitability has remained about the same or even went up during the pandemic.
A Mycase survey also found that about 70% of respondents said their legal offices are allowing remote work even as the pandemic has eased.
Also, in 2021, there were more than 100,000 legal depositions done remotely, according to industry data. This shows that with a strong Internet connection and a video camera, it’s possible to perform depositions that stand up in court, and there’s no need to have all the stakeholders in the same room.
Meeting Clients Virtually
Collaboration and communication are vital to any lawyer’s success. But as we have seen during the pandemic, it isn’t always possible to meet face-to-face. Also, research shows that up to ⅓ of legal clients would rather have a remote conference when meeting their attorney for the first time. And about 50% would rather have Zoom call during the entire legal process, if possible.
So, it’s vital that lawyers have a top-notch video conferencing solution available. Obviously, it’s very important that law firms have a highly secure video conferencing tool that is encrypted, so make sure you do your research and know how to use the program before using it for client conferences.
More Cloud Storage
As in many industries, more law firms are moving their data to the cloud. With data in the cloud, lawyers can more effectively manage and supervise all legal proceedings with a cell phone or computer, no matter where they are on earth.
The ABA says in the next 36 months, about 70% of legal offices will migrate all of their data to cloud-based servers. They also will use integrated document management services in the cloud for their legal department procedures.
Law firms that embrace these technologies will be ready to face the future of the legal profession, so make sure your law firm is up to date on technology.