Legal tech — What is it? How does technology help law firms?

Such specifics often prevent law firms from actively pursuing digital business transformation. However, with the increase in the document flow, and the total volume of tasks, lawyers prefer technologies that offer to provide services easier and efficiently.

The concept of legal tech

Initially, legal technologies meant solutions that simplify the accounting, processing, and search of documents. As technology has evolved in this area, legal tech has evolved into a comprehensive tool capable of solving many problems. The term refers to all those processes that can improve the efficiency and quality of legal services.

With the help of legal tech, many tasks are solved:

• Development of specific analytical systems.
• Create document designers.
• Automation of coordination and approval of documents.
• Automated systems for searching judicial practice based on the uploaded text.

It is not the whole list of what allows you to develop legal tech for law firms. The possibilities of these technologies are wider and more diverse, they are becoming more and more and they are constantly improving.

Tweet

Classification of legal tech solutions

There are three main types of legal technologies that have defined Bucerius Law School and Boston Consulting Group. The first type is assistive technologies that help digitize documents. The second type of legal tech solution covers the tasks of supporting a law firm. These include the processes of personnel and document management. These technologies help to automate the management of business and affairs in general. The third type of technology helps to solve issues of a direct legal nature. These are analytical systems and consolidated packages of information work.

Among the most popular types of legal software, it is worth highlighting such solutions:

• Software for the management of legal practice. These are technologies that allow you to optimize the background of office work of specialists. This includes the storage and sharing of documents, CRM tools, and integration of the legal practice management system with the document flow.
• Conflict checking software. It includes specific solutions that identify potential conflicts of interest between counsel and clients.
• Software to support legal transactions. Such products are databases in the legal field that simplify the work of lawyers and help them more efficiently extract the necessary information.
• Legal billing software. The use of this solution is necessary for companies where there is an hourly payment for the work of lawyers. Thanks to special billing systems, you can automate the process of invoicing customers. Technologies allow you to collect data on all actions that the client performs within the framework of the legal program.

An important role is played by technologies that allow for internal consulting in the company. Corporations and large enterprises strive to have internal consultants capable of fulfilling the legal needs of a particular organization. Such lawyers do not worry about hourly wages. Their work is always in demand and often highly paid. Therefore, in-house lawyers are more motivated and interested in making their work even more efficient with the help of digital technologies.

Relevance of legal tech in the future

Most legal processes need to be transformed. The use of automation and technologies of piece intelligence significantly increases the competitiveness of the company. In particular, solutions that simplify the work with documents and increase the productivity of personnel are becoming popular.

Technologies are firmly entering legal practice as one of the factors for the sustainable development of law firms.

Tweet