• Will the Legal Sector be affected?
• Should your firm be concerned?
• Are there ways to combat these disruptions?
• Is that even the right thing to do?

Truth be told… not everything can be digitalised within the Legal sector.

However, there are huge opportunities for digital transformation in Legal firms that can contribute to an increase in efficiency, as well as reduced costs and the opportunity to provide firms with an advantage over their competitors for those willing to embrace change and Build Future.

As we mentioned, we’re aware the Legal sector has traditionally been a paper-based industry and there’s no getting around that fully.  

There’ll likely always be specific documents that need to physically exist.

That being said though, there’s a multitude of processes that can be automated to save both time and money.

Objection! Surely this means less billable hours if the speed of tasks can be massively improved, resulting in less income for the firm. 

Overruled! It’s likely to increase your customer base as people will be satisfied with the quick return of answers, information and advice from yourselves and the reduced cost of legal fees.

This is happening already and if you’re not already doing it, your competitors will be.

First off, we need to address the fact that a cloud-based solution is the main goal of any digital transformation, as additional aspects such as bots and automation, only work to their fullest within the cloud.

Adopting the can have wide ranging benefits such as… 

• Increased accessibility and security as a result of digitalising documents and storing them in a centralised, off premises, cloud-based, database.
• It’s easier to be GDPR compliant as all your data will be in one place in the cloud. 
• Our CRM systems and case management systems also help to streamline and simplify processes throughout the firm which will lead to an increase in quicker collaborations and productivity. 
• Flexible and agile working is also on the rise and with data stored on the cloud, you would have the ability to access any information required, at anytime, anywhere.  

This will aid in completing work in a shorter time period as there’ll be no searching for paper documents, nor trying to find where they are stored and getting them sent over to different branches. Remote working also becomes a lot easier which is proven to contributes positively to the work-life balance of your employees.

Automation doesn’t have to be complicated and there’s many mundane and repetitive processes that can be automated to save time and improve the efficiency in your firm.

With repetitive tasks being automated (like billing and other administrative tasks), this would bring down your administration costs and reduce any risk of human error with manual information inputs. Automation can also help create smart contracts through the use of blockchain technology, which allows records to be kept on a digital ledger.

The ‘smart contract’ feature allows coded programs to act on predefined triggers from these records and can aid in drafting contracts, verifying legal documents and more.

Chatbots, or ‘Lawbots’ are increasingly being  utilised within the legal sector as another way to streamline customer communications and provide general legal advice.

These days consumers expect an immediate response.

This means front line staff are having to spend more time on the simple enquiries rather than their main duties.

What many don’t yet realise is that it can be so simple to set up an always on, readily available Customer Service Bot within your firm which will triage and respond to simple client enquiries through a multitude of digital channels.

A bot can quickly and easily complete tasks ranging from notifying a client when a document is ready to view to receiving updates on the purchase of a property.

Does a bot cost the Earth?

Surprisingly, a bot is not an expensive piece of technology in relation to the benefits that you’ll receive by having one.

They’re a quick solution that will make an immediate business impact by assisting clients with simple enquiries, and even directing internal staff to where certain documents are stored, no matter the time.

As well as saving time and money, an investment in a bot can help your firm compete with others in the Legal sector.  

• DoNotPay was created to dispense legal advice when someone has received a fine and is looking for some basic legal assistance. There’s several advantages that immediately leap out at us here but the main one is this; the application is free (to those in the US) which is a major bonus to the customer seeking free, trust-worthy advice instead of having to invest heavily in an actual human lawyer. However they’re much more likely to use your firm when follow on action is then required.
• Rocket Lawyer is another digital chatbot that is used to help firms apply elements of documents to assemble their own legal documents, without the help of a lawyer, again with the firm in the background for when expert advice is needed.

Finally, we reach the topic of Big Data and Legal Research. 

Big Data refers to the large sets of data and processes used to capture, analyse and extract value from data sets and it can be used to find relevant information quickly, such as similar cases to use for evidence.

Its main emphasis is on automating decision making in real time.

Due to the accessibility of data stored online, it’s easier to see everything that is occurring in the firm to ensure that there are consistent service levels, as well as viewing the internal pipeline of clients.

Cognitive analytics have also proven efficient when it comes to reviewing contracts. For example, it’s shown to save roughly 80% of time taken for contracts to be reviewed manually. This will mean that employees will need to spend less time overlooking contracts which will allow them to use time more effectively in other matters.  

To summarise, tech trends are going to assist your organisation to work quicker and smarter than your competitors.

Yes, there is a cost with all this (like there is with anything), but surely this investment is overflowing with benefits and opportunities?

These processes and transformations are not impossible to achieve and we’re here to help!

Many other law firms are already on-board with their digital transformation so the real question  is… are you?