Of the 900 law firms that took part in this research, 87% use video conferencing technology, 66% use cloud storage and 50% use practice management software, with 90% of firms saying that their increased use of technology will continue in a post-covid world. In terms of legal-specific technology, 37% of respondents say they currently use it, while 24% say they plan to use it soon. Of the sector-specific technology, the most common technology include online portals for matter updates, interactive websites to generate legal documents and chatbots or virtual assistants. Meanwhile, improving service quality (72%), improving efficiency (71%), and allowing staff to work more flexibly (44%) were among the main reasons firms cited for using new technologies. Not all firms are using or implementing these practices, so what’s stopping them? A lack of in-house skills and uncertainty over business benefits are among the reasons. However, one of the biggest barriers is cost, with more than half of firm respondents reporting affordability to be the main obstacle, “or more specifically a lack of spare financial capital to invest in such areas”, according to the SRA’s summary report. Other cited barriers include a need for greater clarity and guidance from the SRA on regulatory issues, such as client confidentiality and data protection requirements. In addition, according to the research, firms working in employment and family law were less likely to make use of technology compared to those working in conveyancing. Meanwhile, firms established in the past five years and those working with large corporate clients were among the firms most likely to innovate. Benefits can be seen among firms that have adapted trainee roles to embrace technology. Junior solicitors and trainees have traditionally drafted simple contracts and reviewed documents, but this type of work is becoming increasingly automated.
• focus on early intervention to resolve issues before going to court; and • proposals that’ll see an extra two million people eligible for legal aid. Clearly action is being taken, but it remains to be seen whether this is enough to reignite the public’s trust in the fairness of the legal system – for both those who use the system, and those who work in it. Tech and innovation As defined by the Law Society, ‘lawtech’ is the term used to “describe technologies that aim to support, supplement or replace traditional methods for delivering legal services, or that improve the way the justice system operates”. It might include implementing document automation, advanced chatbots or smart legal contracts to increase efficiency and productivity, reduce costs, and improve access to legal services for the public, among other benefits. While law firms aren’t (yet) overrun with robots, advances in AI and automation will continue to create new revolutionary possibilities, and challenges, for the legal profession over the coming years. More recently, we saw law firms transition to remote working in light of covid-19 to ensure they could continue delivering high- quality services to clients, but ‘lawtech’ is so much more than that. The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) research with the University of Oxford Technology and Innovation in Legal Services looked at “current and potential innovation, and adoption of technology within the legal sector”. The research set out to not only increase understanding of lawtech, but to also identify how the sector can be supported in implementing these changes. “Supporting lawtech and innovation, especially that which improves access to justice for all” is one of the SRA’s three core objectives within its 2020-2023 corporate strategy.
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