By Legal Futures Associate Lawtech Software Group
Technology certainly plays its part in the growth and development of the legal sector as solicitors and conveyancers find ways to streamline their processes while also meeting their legal and compliance obligations. However, technology is proving even more powerful than many would have anticipated, given the opportunities for legal tech products to combine. Integrated technology can be a game changer; it can offer the best of several products to ensure your needs are always met.
For example, a combination of a client onboarding platform seamlessly integrated with a case management system means you have several tools you need on a day-to-day basis in one unified platform. The ability to complete lite and enhanced checks and then have that information stored in an organised case management system makes a lawyer’s life so much easier and enables firms to achieve compliance and due diligence obligations, prevent fraud and streamline overall processes.
To put things into perspective, one of the common uses of legal technology is to increase flexibility and improve efficiency. According to a study by All About Law, 23% of a solicitor’s activities could be easily automated and could save over two hours a day, enabling solicitors to focus on their core work, helping their clients.
In a separate survey conducted by LexisNexis, 71% of lawyers cited faster delivery of legal work as a key benefit of legal technology, with 54% citing improved client services, while interestingly enough, 53% cited gaining a competitive advantage as a key benefit of legal technology and AI.
It’s clear that legal technology has its role to play and is very much here to stay. In particular, it dictates the importance of focusing on core work and saving time. Let’s explore integrated technology, its impact and benefits and examine the potential disadvantages of not implementing technology in your law firm.
Integrated legal technology: the benefits
As discussed above, integrated legal technology is playing an important role in the evolving legal sector, providing answers to common challenges affecting your firm. Here are some of the benefits of integrated legal technology:
Confidently meet compliance obligations – One of the main factors in creating legal technology products is ensuring they are compliant with the regulations set in place, whether your governing body is the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) or the Law Society of Scotland (LSS). Most legal technology is built to align with regulatory frameworks to ensure your compliance worries are a thing of the past.
Complete all levels of due diligence – Depending on the complexities of your client’s legal matters, legal technology will enable you to complete all levels of due diligence, from lite checks to enhanced checks. An ID verification software integrated with a case management system, for example, would enable you to fully validate your client’s information and complete the necessary checks.
One unified system – Integrated technology brings together the best of different legal technology products and services. The ability to integrate means you have one unified platform to use, eradicating the need to utilise a number of systems, which can be time-consuming.
Enhance efficiency – Following on from the point above, technology helps firms save time and helps them focus on the legal tasks that matter. If the initial processes are smoother and faster with integrated technology, solicitors ensure time is saved, and with everything on one platform, it makes life simpler for you and your staff.
The risks of not having legal technology
Legal technology is making moves within the sector, but it’s not for everybody, with other firms preferring more traditional methods of onboarding and validating their client’s information. However, while it may not necessarily be something some firms want to adopt, they must understand that they are missing out on the transformative features of legal technology, especially technology that integrates with other platforms.
There are many disadvantages, including insecurity surrounding compliance. Manual methods of compliance may not guarantee you meet the ever-changing regulations set out by governing bodies, putting your firm at risk of potential fines, sanctions and loss of reputation.
In addition to this, your firm’s efficiency may be severely impacted due to the lengthy process of manual onboarding; as it takes so much longer, your team has less team to focus on their core legal work. Firms strive for simplicity and efficiency, which is what legal technology brings, creating seamless workflows and enabling your team to complete onboarding much faster and focus on other matters.
LexisNexis’s survey offers further perspective on this ideology, with 74% of solicitors saying legal tech has made the team more productive, while 53% said it has given them more time to focus on priority issues, and interestingly, 49% said it has simplified their workflows.
Legal technology coming together is a game changer
We know law firms recognise the value of legal technology, with overall spending up 48% in the last twelve months, while 60% of solicitors intend to use legal tech more frequently within the next five years.
However, it is also critical for all firms of all sizes to have the ability to access this technology, with 81% of small firm lawyers believing keeping working practices and systems up to date will be a significant challenge in the next 12 months but only 24% said they plan to implement new technology.
There are plenty of viable legal technology solutions available to law firms, and if those can integrate with existing processes or other legal technology products, it is game-changing. Ultimately, it’s about finding the right product and processes that work for your firm, but with even more products available in the legal technology market and more beginning to integrate together, you will find something that works for you so you can meet your legal and compliance obligations as well as the needs of your team and your clients.
