Business models are moving at light speed. Enterprising companies and product developers are always coming up with new solutions to everyday challenges. Legal firms and services are not exempt from these developments.
While the Covid-19 pandemic has enforced new ways of working, the challenge for law firms now is to embrace technology to stay ahead and meet the growing needs of a rapidly changing world and its associated legal challenges.
Technology has affected the global economy deeply. Its usage has been linked to marketplace transformation, improved living standards and more robust international trade. The impact of the technology economy in the market is very significant. Consider the high value placed on tech stocks like Apple, Google, and Amazon.
It is also changing the face of law practice. Gartner predicts by the end of 2022, 85% of customer interactions will be managed without humans. Bots are revolutionising client service while voice search is transforming internet research.
Technology is already improving access to the Rule of Law, with many courts adopting tools that are transforming the way in which disputes are handled. These include e-call overs, e-filing, video conferencing and entire e-Courts in jurisdictions around the world.
eDiscovery is also right here, right now, with the volume of data being generated and stored growing rapidly across multiple formats, affecting what constitutes evidence during litigation, but also reducing litigation costs and saving lawyers time by using eDiscovery technology.
All of the above technologies help reduce the amount of time required to process cases, and as their use increases, will bring down the cost of providing legal services.
Technology Adoption within the Legal Industry
Technology’s slow adoption rate with law firms can be attributed to the fear of technology transforming regular functions, which is common across many sectors. Those who enter the legal industry, study law for years are unlikely to want their career to change drastically. They may be worried about legal technology replacing their jobs or completely transforming them, to the point where they are no longer familiar.
This can often mean that lawyers and other legal employees may not appreciate the true value of legal tech, even if the technology makes their jobs easier and more efficient.
To change this mindset, it is important for legal teams and in-house counsels to understand the advantages of digital transformation and legal technology, and how they can develop new skills through new business processes.
Law firms could embrace a mindset more common to the enterprise, a mindset that acknowledges that technological change must constantly be integrated in a company’s service offerings to ensure that growth, revenue, and retention goals are all achieved.
Why Embrace Technology?
1. Competence
It’s already known that technology improves a business’ processes. Investing in new tech tools for your law company will bring you back huge ROI. Lawyers and assistants can do their job more effectively if they have the right equipment and tech for their offices.
2. Productivity
Start by implementing in each office comfortable basic tools, and you may be surprised at how people in your law firm eventually improve productivity. In fact, most technologies will improve productivity in a law firm, as they will help employees complete tasks faster and more efficiently.
3. Security
As technology improves, so does security. And we know how much we need internet safety, as cyberattacks have become more and more common nowadays. If this is the case in your law firm, then it’s crucial to modernise it and become compliant with Cyber Essentials Plus requirements, like Blue Car Technologies.
Embracing the Change
From business incorporations to corporate filings to regulatory compliance, automation is playing a larger role in the delivery of legal services.
Faced with this reality, modern law firms have a choice: They can acknowledge the changes occurring or simply ignore them. Recognizing and embracing change means fundamentally adjusting the mindset from being simply providers of legal expertise to business leaders capable of envisioning a new service model. The alternative, which is to ignore these changes, will likely result in the demise of many traditional legal providers – an unattractive option for those who have committed their careers to providing legal services.
Law firms that embrace the future of technology and automation will succeed, while those that refuse to change will struggle. The time is now for law firms and their leaders to pick their heads up from the day-to-day grind and become forward-thinking enterprises.
Blue Car Technologies can help to digitally transform your business. To learn more about how our bespoke software, integration and support can help transform your business, contact us today for more information.
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