The legal industry is no exception in an era where technology transforms every facet of our lives. Integrating cutting-edge technologies reshapes legal professionals’ operations, increases efficiency, and enhances client experiences.
Leveraging such technologies can help you stand out from the competition. Data shows that there are more than 1.3 million lawyers in the US in 2022. You can fall behind if you don’t use the right technology to improve client experiences. Hence, it is vital to know and understand the changing tech trends in the legal sector.
In this article, we’ll delve into the top five tech trends revolutionizing the legal industry.
Artificial Intelligence Will Become Commonplace
The use of AI will become ubiquitous in the legal sector. AI is widely used in law firms, and they are willing to continue and even adopt new technological advancements. According to a 2020 study, 92% of law firms wanted to adopt AI in the times to come to improve their services.
Some key areas where AI will continue to make an impact in the future are:
- Document review and due diligence: AI-powered tools are used to analyze and review vast amounts of legal documents quickly and accurately. This will particularly be valuable in tasks such as due diligence during mergers and acquisitions.
- Legal research: AI-based systems assist legal professionals in conducting comprehensive legal research. These systems could quickly analyze and extract relevant information from various legal databases.
- Contract analysis: AI tools will be employed to review and analyze contracts, extracting key terms and highlighting potential risks. This will save time and reduce the likelihood of errors in contract review processes.
- Predictive analytics: Predictive analytics, powered by AI, are used to forecast case outcomes. This helps lawyers and legal professionals make more informed decisions about strategy and resource allocation.
- Legal chatbots: Chatbots have natural language processing capabilities that allow a software to understand human language and respond accordingly. The use of chatbots in the legal industry will grow for client interaction, answering frequently asked questions, and providing initial legal guidance.
- E-discovery: AI plays a crucial role in e-discovery processes by automating, identifying, and retrieving relevant electronic information in legal cases. This helps in reducing the time and costs associated with discovery.
- Automation of routine tasks: AI is used to automate everyday and repetitive tasks. This allows legal professionals to focus on more complex and strategic aspects of their work. This includes automating administrative tasks, document generation, and data entry.
The Use of Digital Identity Solutions Will Increase
As the legal industry transitions toward a digital future, the importance of robust digital identity solutions cannot be overstated. According to AU10TIX, digital identity means a digital representation of your personal information. Your name, social security number, date of birth, etc., are a part of your digital identity.
Digital identity allows you to give your customers access to various services. For instance, suppose you have a platform where clients can read about their ongoing cases. In that case, you will use their digital information, like name, email ID, credentials, etc., to allow them access to data.
However, the number of cyberattacks where digital identity is stolen is increasing. Attackers are creating synthetic identities with the stolen information to breach law firm’s cybersecurity. As stated in a Bloomberg Law article, one in every 40 cyberattacks is targeted at a law firm or insurance provider.
In such a scenario, it is vital to understand digital identity meaning and look for solutions to protect it. And one way to do so is through digital identity solutions. Digital identity solutions, including biometric authentication, secure access controls, and encryption, are critical in verifying the identity of users accessing legal systems.
This enhances security and facilitates the seamless and efficient delivery of legal services. Digital identity solutions are particularly relevant in client verification, ensuring that sensitive information is only accessible to authorized individuals.
Looking at the pace at which cyberattacks have kept increasing recently, digital identity solutions will become paramount. The number of law firms relying on such solutions will increase as the cyberattacks become more sophisticated.
Blockchain Will Make Legal Services More Decentralized
Blockchain is a distributed database that maintains a continuously growing list of records called blocks. Each block contains information about transactions between two parties and is linked to the previous block in the chain through cryptographic validation. This process provides high levels of security and reliability, making it ideal for recording sensitive data.
Blockchain technology has been widely applied across many industries over the past decade. However, industry experts have only recently realized its potential for disrupting legal services. As stated in an International Bar Association article, this technology has entered the legal sector but is yet to transform it.
Regulations Around the Use of Technology Will Strengthen
Regulations around technology use are becoming more stringent, with regulators from different jurisdictions taking a harder stance on data privacy and cybersecurity. This means that lawyers must be increasingly aware of their responsibilities when using technology in their practice areas.
Regulation is also becoming more complex. Regulators are applying multiple standards simultaneously or requiring organizations to comply with overlapping rules across jurisdictions.
For example, many countries have adopted GDPR but implemented it differently. This means there could be significant differences in how your company must comply with GDPR depending on where it operates.
While this may seem harsh on the businesses operating in this sector, it is of utmost importance. When customers trust you with their data, you must safeguard it. In fact, 91% of the 1,000 respondents recently surveyed said that all companies must take responsibility for any data breach.
Regulation will also become more global. The European Union has already introduced laws relating specifically to privacy protection. Other regions are likely going through similar processes right now. You can expect these regulations to affect how businesses handle personal information across borders before long!
Cloud-Based Legal Technology
Cloud computing has become integral to the legal industry, offering scalability, accessibility, and collaboration. Law firms leverage cloud-based platforms for case management, document storage, and communication.
This trend allows legal professionals to access information anywhere, promoting flexibility and collaboration among team members. Digital identity solutions ensure secure access to cloud-based legal systems, mitigating the risk of unauthorized access.
Conclusion
We’re excited to see what the future holds for the legal industry. And we hope this article has given you some ideas of where things might go next. Whether it’s the use of AI or digital identity solutions, many possibilities could change how we think about legal services today.
