Legal Tech Trends and Industry Consequences
As of 2017, the legal industry is still rather slow to adopt new technology and integrate such technology into the work environment — and to some degree, the general disinterest showcased by the legal industry is justified. Truly market-shifting, cohesive, and comprehensive legal technology is still in its infancy. For those attorneys who fancy themselves “tech savvy” professionals, and for those law firms who pride themselves on being at “the cutting edge” of the industry, a mish-mash of existing tech tools may be sufficient for their purposes.
Widespread adoption of the internet has certainly changed how the practice of law is conducted in obvious ways, but many are waiting for the next stage of tech innovation that will change the face of the industry as we know it and have consequences for the legal job market at-large. The reality, however, is that there are already new technologies that have been introduced to the legal industry and are — perhaps in more understated ways — changing the way that firms and their clients do business.
Attorneys who have grown used to clunky, inefficient, and downright archaic legal software packages should be careful not to underestimate the legal tech industry. Though change has been slow, over the past decade, legal tech offerings have become much more competitive within the broader sphere of professional support technology. As law firms and in-house departments begin to integrate these new technologies, the workplace and job market will adapt as necessary.
Here’s what to look out for as 2017 rolls forward:
AI is Changing the Game
Artificial Intelligence — or AI — may seem like science fiction, but specialized AI is deep in development and funding is pouring in to many technology firms and companies. IBM Watson is a famous example, with potential application in the legal industry. Watson and its AI contemporaries are designed to take over legal research duties. Though specialized AI technology is still somewhat nascent and widespread adoption in the legal industry will almost certainly take years, many industry observers believe that change is inevitable and likely to be significant.
In the near future, adoption of AI technology at law firms and in-house departments will minimize the need for associates to conduct research, and will reduce general demand for junior associates. Salaries may begin to stagnate as a result, and the job market will likely see increased competition.
The Cloud is Everywhere
The “cloud” has been a hot topic of discussion in the technology world for over a decade at this point, and what began as a business-focused technology has become incredibly ubiquitous. At this juncture, even corporations with consumer-facing products have successfully implemented massive cloud storage and management systems for their customers (i.e., iCloud by Apple).
Cloud-based software has affected more than just file storage, however. In workplaces across the country, cloud-based scheduling software (i.e., Asana, Basecamp, etc.) has become the norm for helping organize teams on both smaller tasks and larger projects. The legal industry was somewhat slow in adopting these new applications, in keeping with its historical resistance to the adoption of new technologies, but the ubiquity of “the cloud” has forced the industry’s hand. Clients expect their documents to be accessible via the cloud, and internally, firms need their attorney employees — wherever they are located — to be able to coordinate on their tasks effectively. Cloud software allows firms to do just that.
Analytics Could Influence the Work Process
The internal collection of data is “old hat” in the legal industry. Billable hours requirements and client demands have built a culture of attorneys religiously keeping tabs of their tasks and hours spent. New technology makes this easier and more accurate, of course (some software even automatically tracks “active work” time to avoid smudging of the records — though firms and individuals often find such software to be excessively invasive). More importantly, however, many firms are now beginning to collect data and use advanced analytics technology to make the business more efficient overall.
Analytics are being used to determine the value of certain roles in the firm, and are helping guide determinations as to whether such roles are actually necessary. Any firm that introduces extensive internal analytics may find that changes are around the corner. For example, if analytics show that the number of paralegals at the firm is excessive, there is likely to be support staff downsizing. Associates may thereafter find themselves saddled with new responsibilities and overwhelmed by their workload.
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