Legal Tech Efficiency

The fact is, even if a law firm feels good about how it uses technology, it`s probably nowhere near state-of-the-art. One opportunity many companies miss is to use technology to improve efficiency – the time it takes to complete a particular task. In a recent webinar sponsored by Paragon Legal and Above the Law, legal professionals explored new strategies on how legal services can increase efficiency, streamline workflows and improve employee well-being. Identifying needs and designing appropriate solutions requires multidisciplinary teams of innovative thinkers, lawyers, engineers, anthropologists, etc. Once this is done, the technology must be continually evaluated to ensure that it best meets the needs of lawyers with appropriate measures. And if not, adjust accordingly. Second, let us talk about efficiency. Up to 82% of law firms (law firms and in-house legal departments) use technology in hopes of increasing efficiency. And he keeps his promises! According to Bloomberg Law, the number of law firms that achieved efficiencies in 2019 through the use of legal technology increased by 50% in 2020. The vast majority of law firm leaders believe that price pressures, competition and the need to effectively deliver legal services are ongoing trends. That`s according to Altman Weil`s 2016 Law Firms in Transition Report.

It should be noted that digital transformation is not just about blindly adopting all the legal technology tools available on the market. It`s not about introducing legal technology just to do it. The aim is to create a legal culture focused on innovation and to improve internal processes by taking full advantage of a combination of tools already in use and several new technologies. Fortunately, 64% of law firm executives already believe that underutilization of technology can hurt profitability. The key to success is first identifying specific problems that can be solved with automation, rather than using legal technology in search of a problem. “Create a focus group to understand your organization`s weaknesses and align them with legal technology platforms that can be used to mitigate vulnerabilities. Talk to peer companies to understand what they`re doing about similar problems and the technology they`re using. Start with small, repetitive tasks and avoid approaching the big bang. More importantly, General Counsel and their direct partners risk valuable political capital in pursuing these technology and automation initiatives. Investments in legal technology and automation are already taking longer than many would like, and the average team takes 2.4 years to recoup their initial financial investment.

We`ve identified seven areas of legal technology that are tacitly eroding law firm margins. The results of Bloomberg Law`s 2020 Legal Technology survey offer a deeper insight into the impact of technology on work. And while companies are happy with the impact of technology on production, lawyers are less enthusiastic about its impact on workflows. In the legal department world that has lived for most of my career, contract review and management tools have allowed lawyers to spend their time more productively and spend less time on routine, repetitive and standardized legal tasks. Gone are the days when corporate lawyers viewed technology as a success rather than a necessity. The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), in partnership with Exterro, released its “2021 Legal Technology Report for In-House Counsel” on Tuesday, and the results suggest that “efficiency” remains the magic word for lawyers and legal operations teams. Statistics suggest that the introduction of legal technology will bring even more improvements. For example, to combat zoom fatigue, it`s helpful to make calls via audio, noted Venora Hung, deputy general counsel at Truepill.