Law firms have only looked to legal tech for basic practice management, billing and accounting, and document storage in years gone by. Most businesses worldwide are still reeling from the Coronavirus pandemic, and many companies are now automating as many of their services as they can. However, in the post-pandemic world, it has become imperative that legal firms adopt automation of more legal activities, especially those surrounding significant corporate transactions.
With legal tech, law firms are now better equipped to combat the challenges of practicing in a post-pandemic world and provide better, speedy solutions and services to their clients. Legal tech also provides lawyers with remote work opportunities. It also helps them manage their time better by making accounting and billing more efficient. So, how does a law firm decide which technologies to adopt for the best results?
Here is an overview of legal tech trends that will impact how law firms operate in 2022.
Legaltech Tools for Work Automation
By choosing suitable applications, legal companies can automate everyday tasks, making them more accessible and faster.
Document Automation
Software products such as Google Docs are specifically designed for working with documents. Document automation is a great starting point for law firms to adopt legal technology.
Contract Management Systems
The work that comes with contract drafting is a nightmare for many lawyers. It takes a great deal of time and requires total concentration. Contract drafting software can save law practitioners lots of time. Some applications can help make contract preparation more efficient, although some human resources may still be needed. Most of these applications are programmed to notice irregularities in documents and highlight them, making corrections faster.
Legal Research
Another time-consuming nightmare in a lawyer’s job is legal research. Using fast search engines like Google can help legal practitioners work faster and save on paid resources. Some popular resources used by law firms include; Cornell’s Legal Information Institute and FindLaw, and Google Scholar.
Use of mart contracts on blockchain
Blockchain is a significant technology trend that will impact legal practices. Blockchain technology provides law firms with a safe and hacker-proof network to share smart contracts. No human intervention is required; hence, legal contracts are executed without human intervention or manipulation.
Blockchain keeps a permanent, public record of all the actions taken on a contract, ensuring that the system is not corrupted. The information is scattered across the entire blockchain, so it can’t be deleted or tinkered with. It is, however, connected and time-stamped along the chain.
Remote Depositions and Hearings
Under the law, remote hearings are becoming more popular. In 2022, legal practitioners will work on improving the way these virtual courts work and will even meet clients through video conferencing or digital marketing.
Online Dispute Resolution
Judicial proceedings, mediation, and dispute resolution will be conducted online, making them faster. Using web-based legal tech to achieve dispute resolution may include a third party who acts as a dispute resolution facilitator. The litigants can also use online dispute resolution software as the facilitator, eliminating human intervention.
By using online dispute resolution technology, such as getdispute.com, you don’t have to deal with mailing and filing your paperwork or even serving the defendant yourself. Also, distance is no longer an issue, and you get to avoid delays and costs that come with traveling for hearings.
