Legal departments in-house have for a long time been hesitant and cautious regarding automation, however, the impact of the pandemic has forced some to shift gears. They have to now explore or, at a minimum, think about the possibility of more comprehensive automation of certain legal procedures, specifically those involving large corporate transactions and the transcription of recorded legal audio and video. The next step is to decide what technologies should be used to achieve ambitious business results.
Gartner’s research reveals how technological advancement is impacting compliance and legal goals. It particularly focuses on the positive, direct impact on efficiency and productivity in legal matters and its potential to increase compliance risks and complexity, and its transformative role in the value chain of legal services.
These five trends will aid you in planning your legal technology investments as well as larger transformation efforts for the future.
Tip No. 1: Implement a dynamic long-term technology plan
The prediction is that by 2025, legal departments will boost the amount they spend on legal technology threefold. The budget allocated to technology is predicted to rise dramatically by 2025, according to a survey from the 2020 Gartner survey of the top legal executives.
Implementing a long-term legal technology plan that is able to change with the changing corporate environment as well as advancements in the market for technology is crucial to achieving successful implementation. Legal departments should stay clear of any unplanned technology purchases that are not aligned with helping them achieve both long-term and short-term business objectives.
Tip No. 2: Plan to hire technology experts along with legal personnel
It is predicted that by 2024, the legal departments around the world will substitute 20 percent of generalist lawyers with non-lawyer personnel. The increasing demand for work and dwindling budgets are putting the emphasis on efficiency. Legal departments need to improve their procedures, technology implementation for legal analytics, and other strategies for digitalization to accommodate this growing workload.
Popularity of roles such as legal analysts and managers is likely to increase depending on the size of the organization. The next role that is bound to rise within the corporate legal team is not unique to the legal field. Gartner’s research shows that there is a rise in investments for legal project managers (up 56 percent) as well as data scientists working within the legal field (up 30 percent) with technological proficiency.
The top in-house legal departments over the coming years will concentrate more on constantly weighing the impact of resource choices in specific fields of operation, regardless of whether they are relying on in-house attorneys, in-house non-lawyers or law firms, or service providers. Additionally, they will improve the innovation and technology in the legal field capabilities of their teams by developing skills in existing staff, utilizing knowledge from other functions (e.g. by way of rotating programs) or from external sources, and recruiting from new talent sources.
Tip No. 3: Use automation to your advantage
It is also predicted that by 2024 legal departments will be automating at least 50% of legal work associated with major corporate transactions. Most legal departments only expect their workforce to dwindle ever since the pandemic. If this is the trend that the legal industry is headed towards, then you must plan to get ahead of the change.
Identify problems, challenges and activities in your organization which are best served by automation. Begin implementing automation technologies in a phased manner to adequately understand where it is most useful. Find partners that other law firms are working with who can support you in implementing this technology in an efficient manner.
It is essential to be sufficiently educated in terms of automation and its potential benefits and challenges. Only implement vetted and trusted automation technology.
Tip No. 4: Focus on client issues while implementing any new technology
While automation appears to be a catch-all solution, machine learning and artificial intelligence are not the ultimate solutions. Every efficient machine learning program used for reviewing documents and agreements or for researching casework has a complicated algorithm behind it.
The expenses that come with such complicated and labor-intensive programs are setting organizations back by years. These challenges can accumulate and force clients to feel that they are paying too much for what they are receiving.
This is why it is important for legal employees and leaders to not get carried away by the glamour of these programs and instead focus on applications and programs that provide highest return on investment for their clients. While high-level strategies are important in implementing technology within the legal field, it is also important to do due diligence in terms of the output of these technological investments.
Tip No. 5: Be empathetic when it comes to remote work
Technology has now converted most workspaces into a virtual network spread all over the world. The legal field is no exception, and this trend is only expected to rise. Rather than holding on too tight to the idea of in-person meetings and calls, give your team and employees the space to undertake remote work whenever possible.
Revisit the tools and technology that your organization has been using and find out how you can optimize them to further engage your teams. Remote work may drastically reduce your costs due to the removal of infrastructural costs, but you must consider investing in software and technology that can help your team embrace the trend of remote work.
Conclusion
Whether we are considering legal technology or technology that is not legal-specific, all businesses and industries are now learning to evolve. Organizations must embrace the change that comes with the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Big data and advanced analytics can be a gamechanger for the legal field which is a knowledge heavy industry. You can improve your data, research and other capabilities if you thoughtfully and mindfully implement the right technology for your workplace.
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