It is clear to most that technology plays a huge role in our lives nowadays, and in the past two decades, it has spread to many different areas, including within business and sectors. The legal industry is a perfect example of how technology has transformed traditional processes. From filing cabinets and physical meetings to cloud storage and videoconferences, the digital movement within the legal sector is unmistakable.
We discussed this matter with a London-based company, TechQuarters. They have been providing small businesses IT support London based legal firms have been relying on for years, and in that time have seen the growth in what has become known as Legal technology.
What is Legal Technology?
There are many different categories of technology within the wider industry. Most people are aware of financial technology (or Fintech), but some may be less familiar with Legal technology.
This category is exactly what the name suggests: Technology that is designed to support and enhance the activities of Legal professionals, and legal organisations. Generally speaking, legal tech tends to be software-based solutions, rather than hardware. As an IT support company London legal firms have been turning to for years, TechQuarters was able to describe the types of Legal tech solutions that are most common, and what they are frequently used for.
The majority of legal tech is designed to make the work of solicitors and legal firms easier. For example, an e-signature software that allows solicitors and clients to approve documents quickly and remotely is an example of technology that makes legal work slightly easier.
Case management solutions are designed to make the actual legal work easier, whereas legal accounting software is more geared towards optimizing the administrative side of running a law practice. In this way, legal technology can serve organisations in different ways.
How Has Legal Technology Changed the Sector?
As with many different sectors, there has always been a perpetual state of new technology deposing the old. In the legal sector, this has been happening, slowly, for a very long time, but there are certainly contemporary examples of how technology has radically changed legal practice. For instance, many firms are now opting to get completely paperless, and rely on digital documentation and file management. Certain IT Support Companies just like TechQuarters in the UK have created unique IT Support Solutions that cater to the needs of legal firms for example.
In 2020, however, this process was sped up significantly, due to the pressures imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. Social distancing facilitated an increase in the use of virtual meeting technologies, and companies using cloud computing also found that remote working was an easier transition, as they were already able to access their files and apps from anywhere.
Technology has changed the legal sector in less dramatic ways, too. For example, a survey revealed that nearly half of consumers would decide against hiring a solicitor that didn’t take digital payments – something that is taken for granted nowadays.
Why Is Legal Technology Important in 2022?
The reason that legal technology is important is because it benefits people at every level, and every part of the legal system. Clients, lawyers, and judges all benefit from the innovations of technology in the legal sector.
When we spoke to TechQuarters, about why technology is so important for the sector, they cited their experience providing IT support for legal firms – in their experience, technology, when managed correctly, greatly increases productivity, flexibility, and business continuity, all of which are things that legal firms can leverage to give a better service to their clients. For example, solutions like eDiscovery make it much quicker and easier for lawyers to collate relevant information for their case prior to trials. Case management solutions make the entire process of working a case more streamlined and productive.
