The legal landscape is continuing to change. Transforming the user experience and operational success of legal firms and corporate legal departments is now more important than ever.
The Obstacles
Legal digital transformation is not without significant obstacles. Data Security is one of the industry’s leading concerns. The reasons for this are: lack of compliance with industry regulations, lack of knowledge of modern business processes, and resistance to change. Keep reading to learn more about digital transformation obstacles in the legal sector, and ways to overcome them.
Data Security
Law firms are responsible for protecting sensitive client information, and, as a result, must be aware of industry regulations and in tune with data security practices. Among other outcomes, a data breach can result in compromises of attorney-client privilege that, in turn, can result in everything from delays in legal proceedings to sanctions or even disbarment.
Unfortunately, to date, the legal industry in general has not always risen to the challenge. Between 2014 and 2019, over 100 firms reported experiencing a data breach to authorities, and high-profile incidents like the Panama Papers leak illustrated just how serious the consequences of a breach can be.
And while the American Bar Association affirms attorneys’ duty to safeguard clients’ information, it offers little in terms of uniform requirements. As such, it is largely left up to individual firms to determine what security measures to put in place to protect themselves against potential cyberattacks and what kind of formal response plans they should have in the event a cyberattack does occur.
Reluctance to change
Many firms must take steps to evolve their deeply rooted cultures. For instance, human error is the leading cause of data breaches, and when digitizing an industry as sensitive as law, it is absolutely vital that employees at every level of an organisation are brought up to speed on cybersecurity best practices and that safeguards such as encryption policies and firewalls are implemented.
Most organisations have not prepared for frictionless digital transformation by prior institutionalisation of modern business processes, such as enterprise agile development and iterative deployment. Knowledge of these processes, organizations can neither accelerate their digital transformation process nor reap its full benefits.
Regulatory Compliances
Law firms with a global presence face the compulsion to comply with a host of different regulations in various parts of the world. This challenge may seem troublesome but knowing and working within the regulations is a crucial step in effective and successful digital transformations.
Overcome the obstacles
Blue Car Technologies’ solutions, such as our DocuSign Connector, improves governance and traceability of the entire DocuSign signing experience, with a complete audit trail in compliance with your firms’ security policies/ practices. The DMS Archiver for iManage Work also meets your DMS Matter compliance requirements and is a great step to take for the firm’s digital transformation journey.
Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions or would like a demo of our innovative business solutions.
