The legal industry is at a turning point. Law firms and legal departments lagging behind in their digital transformation are losing both clients and employees to more tech-savy competitors and disruptive legal tech companies.
Not that legal professionals are unable or unwilling to rethink and innovate. On the contrary – in our experience, the legal industry is full of progressive minds looking for ways to improve quality of service and boost efficiency to better serve their clients, and to modernize the profession as a whole.
In fact, Gartner expects an increase in legal tech spending of about 12% of in-house budgets by 2025. Innovative in-house legal departments and progressive law firms are using legal tech to streamline business processes, improve business outcomes, and improve services. From business process automation to machine learning and AI, leading law firms are now using custom software to innovate and differentiate in this predominantly traditional profession.
The legal industry is facing several challenges. These challenges have emerged due to factors such as; new legislation, changing market dynamics, increasing complexity of legal issues, and the rise of new technologies to name a few. Perhaps the biggest challenge, is the growing demand for affordable legal services.
In today’s market, the organizations implementing digital transformation strategies are the ones responding appropriately to the needs and expectations of the modern buyers. In a digital world, customers want answers, solutions, products, value — and they want it now. Clients of law firms are becoming increasingly tech-savvy. They know that technology can get the job done faster, and consequently they expect it at a lower cost. However, the manual processes of the past simply cannot accommodate these expectations.
To meet client expectations, progressive law firms are beginning to shift their focus from internal measures of success such as hours billed to a more customer centric approach e.g. customer service level, customer satisfaction and business outcomes.
It is impossible to deliver the service clients have come to expect, if lawyers and other legal professionals are hampered by inefficient legacy systems, time-consuming manual processes or a general resistance to change and innovation.
Modern law firms must embrace technology to maintain their competitiveness. This means investing in new technologies and developing custom applications and workflows to improve the flexibility and efficiency of legal processes. Law firms can also use technology to automate routine legal tasks, such as contract review, document drafting, in order to free up time, allowing lawyers to focus on more complex and valuable work.
A good example of using technology to improve legal services while keeping costs in check, is LES Whistleblower Platform – a SaaS offering that ensures an anonymous, confidential and independent channel for reporting matters that cannot be immediately handled via the normal channels.
Law firms must dust off their service offerings to meet the changing needs of their clients. This may involve offering new services, secure online self-service portals, and data protection, or expanding into new markets. Law firms can also consider offering alternative remuneration arrangements, such as fixed fees or contingency fees, to make legal services more affordable and accessible.
Like in any other industry, data has become a most valuable asset. Data analytics can help law firms identify trends and patterns in legal issues, cases and transactions, enabling them to make more informed decisions. Law firms can use data analytics to better understand their clients, improve the quality of their legal services, and identify new opportunities for growth and development.
To stay ahead of the curve, law firms must nurture a culture of innovation. This means encouraging creative thinking and experimentation and rewarding employees who come up with new and improved ways to get the job done. Law firms can also partner with startups and other innovative companies to bring new ideas and technologies into the legal industry.
Law firms must invest in the development of their talent to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the future. This may involve providing training and development programs for lawyers and other employees or partnering with universities and other educational institutions to develop new talent.