Legaltech: making it work for you

The COVID-19 pandemic has turbocharged the use of legal technology. 97% of law firms now use video meeting apps. But there’s much more out there and much more to be done! Are we missing a trick?

Legaltech is something that many lawyers have shied away from—perhaps for too long. But the pandemic is changing all that.

The Times has this week included a special paper supplement on legal innovation by Raconteur.net. While this legaltech supplement, sandwiched between the football results, didn’t include any ‘jump off your sofa moments’—legaltech is good, but not that good—it does include lots of accessible and useful articles on how legaltech can, in particular, help smaller businesses; how AI can help you get more from your data; and what a day in the life of an in-house lawyer looks like (‘a considerable ongoing challenge for in-house lawyers will be the ability to embrace new technology’).

The article on page 10 (‘Making legaltech work for you’) sets out how this all can work for you in practice. But there are challenges. As the article notes, ‘a lack of know-how can prevent firms taking the plunge or result in them getting carried away by the hype and buzzwords, wasting money on tech that sits idle’. This doesn’t only apply to law firms. In-house lawyers are equally prone to sourcing the tech that doesn’t work for them.

But there are many benefits. And this is where the fun starts.

Data management is a key piece of the puzzle. It is, I believe, the secret recipe of the future. As I explain on page 11, we use data in everything that we do. The result? We should be using tech tools to collate and analyse this data to give market insights to our clients and enhance and finetune any AI that we use.

What’s more, while return on investment is important, other benefits shouldn’t be overlooked. There’s the tech, for example, that allows legal teams to collaborate virtually or which allow clients to ‘access law firms’ advice in the most efficient ways’. As I note further down on page 11, ‘never discount the value of enhancing the client experience’. This can so often be a key differentiator and help take your business to the next level.

Tony Randle and I have written about many of the challenges that in-house lawyers face on legaltech, in particular. Do check out our recent articles below on legaltech):

• Myth-busting in-house legal tech: tips to avoid tech for tech’s sake
• Myth-busting in-house legal tech: I’m a Luddite
• Myth-busting in-house legal tech: the time is now

Earlier in the summer, we also launched the New How, our long-term strategic project, to build a better, faster, smarter normal through innovation. The New How is how your business could—and should—be doing things now. Over the past few years we have been working hard, developing innovative products, processes and working practices at Shoosmiths like matters+, Live Working and Cia® (our new AI contract review platform), to name a few. These exciting products don’t change what is done, but they radically change how it is done.

Let us help you with your #NewHow so you can be smarter, faster and better.