As time goes by and inventors continue to surprise us with new technologies, we become more and more dependent on them. While the word dependent on something usually carries a negative connotation, it’s not so in this scenario. Imagine mowing your lawn without a lawnmower or washing your clothes without a washing machine.
It can be done, but why should you spend extra time on such mundane tasks if you have helpful and efficient tools?
The technology that runs the field of law is a little different and slightly more in line with the fantasy future world of AI popularized by Black Mirror.
Nevertheless, it has the same purpose: to serve. At its core, technology in the field of law is meant to save time, money, and effort, all while increasing efficiency and accuracy. But is that all there is? Let’s talk about it.
Document Review
Contract review tools like loio.com have taken the world of law by storm. Any lawyer with even the tiniest bit of experience knows how dreadful contract review can be. It may take hours to review one contract, and you can still miss something!
Besides, think about checking important details like phone numbers, bank account numbers, and addresses. Sure, Microsoft Word can underline typos and grammar mistakes, but what are you going to do about these details?
Document review software can’t tell you what’s right and what’s wrong, but it can highlight these details for you to double-check.
Its main selling point is accuracy and speed. Document review software can go through a contract in seconds, while a professional lawyer could take up to an hour to do that. Even then, human error is almost unavoidable. Technology is leading the fight against human error, and it’s been a success so far!
Streamlining Communication
In the past year, people started to really appreciate the beauty of working remotely. Of course, with remote work come issues like the inability to properly communicate with colleagues and clients. Technological advances in the field of telecommunication allow us to communicate remotely and not be brought down by our inability to always meet in person.
Video conferencing tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams present an excellent opportunity to “meet” face-to-face remotely. Messenger apps like WhatsApp, Viber, and Telegram make messaging instant. You can contact anyone from anywhere, as long as you have reception, of course!
As a result of these changes, your communication with clients is no longer limited by your surroundings. You don’t have to be by a computer to send an email or go to the office to make a phone call. The world is quite literally at the tips of your fingertips, behind the screen.
Automating Research
Research is a huge part of the work of any lawyer. You have to conduct a fair bit of it for any new case, as well as constantly keep up with changes in your jurisdiction.
Lawyers used to have to spend hours on research for just one case. Some people still do that, though there is no need for that anymore. AI-powered programs can do the work for you. You just need to identify the criteria of your search and approve the results.
Those who are not yet ready to give up control can make use of law databases like LexisNexis. Such research tools for lawyers can help you find relevant cases with ease. Instead of spending time browsing the web, you can focus on analyzing and implementing the cases and knowledge your search engine comes up with.
Enabling Powerful Analytics
Analytics play a role in document review, retrieval, storage, and more. Analytics can automate processes that require no inspiration or creativity on your part; in other words, routine and administrative tasks. For example, AI can help you retrieve documents months after storing them.
It does so by analyzing textual patterns and making connections. This way, you can find the document you’re looking for without knowing its name or exact location.
Contract review has been able to grow as much as it did due to powerful analytics and AI. Using pattern recognition, AI can categorize contracts based on their types, subjects, or other criteria. Editing and proofreading have become much simpler with the rise of analytical tools too.
The software knows what to look for better than some people. It can find errors in any text, as well as format inconsistencies, and point out what needs to be double-checked.
Overall, technology has been having a positive impact on the productivity of law firms in North America. One issue that many people fail to address is education. We can only benefit from technology if we know how to use it.
Don’t neglect this aspect of technology implementation and educate your employees on how legal tech can benefit them every day!
