NOTE: WE NOW OFFER A COMPREHENSIVE COURSE FOCUSED ON LEGAL TECH.

The proliferation of legal technology has resulted in the emergence of a broad range of solutions designed to make the more administrative legal processes and workstreams carried out by law firms more efficient. For example, artificial intelligence and machine learning have been used to transform some of the more labour intensive processes such as document review and due diligence, in part by automating some of the roles that were traditionally carried out manually by paralegals, legal assistants and trainees. 

In addition, a number of platforms exist to facilitate more streamlined collaboration between different parties. Such platforms reduce the need for junior lawyers to act as the conduits through which information passes between parties, with the parties instead having the opportunity to log into central platforms through which, for example, documents can be communally accessed, check lists can be communally updated and documents can be signed by dozens of parties.

As automation and efficiencies increase, the number of billable hours that need to be worked to complete transactions will decrease, meaning legal fees should also decrease. Clients are therefore increasingly expecting their legal advisors to adopt cutting-edge legal technology where possible, and will have more impetus to challenge the traditional approach to billing moving forwards. 

This trend has accelerated in light of COVID-19, which has galvanised businesses into adopting more efficient operational processes (and requiring their suppliers to do the same). As a result, for lawyers, an understanding of, and willingness to use legal technology is becoming increasingly essential, as the efficiencies that legal technology can generate will enable firms to provide more competitive fee quotes to prospective clients. 

As more law firms adopt these legal technologies, firms will likely need to be at the cutting-edge of innovation to remain competitive; they might otherwise struggle to compete on price with competitors that have more effectively integrated legal tech into their internal processes. However, engagement and adoption among lawyers still poses a challenge. 

Another challenge posed by legal technology relates to training. Paralegals and trainees traditionally learned the ropes through the exposure they gained to key legal documents and processes whilst carrying out many of the labour-intensive administrative processes such as proofreading and reviewing documents, and project managing transactions and cases. If technology takes over some of these processes, firms will need to find new ways to equip their juniors with the knowledge and experience required to succeed as associates.