Law Technology Today From the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center
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The field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made immense progress over the last two decades, so much so that AI technology is becoming commonplace across many different industries. One area that AI technology has been successfully implemented is in law firms. AI software that aids law firms has been dubbed “legal tech.”
Imagine a particular case in which tomb sized document collections must be read and analyzed in order to garner specific bits of information. Typically, this would involve an individual, a legal aid or lawyer, spending weeks going through document after document; a timely and costly process. Instead, AI-driven software can do the same analysis in a fraction of the time, saving time, resources, and money.
While legal tech is a fairly new use of AI technology, the IT industry has seen a steady rise in startups dedicating themselves to just that. The fact that so many bright minds have decided to embark on developing such technology is proof that it is in demand. Here we will look at how law firms can benefit from AI and legal tech software.
Lowers firm start-up costs
One of the major obstacles people face when opening up a law firm is acquiring the initial capital needed to hire a sufficient amount of legal aides and assistants. These are the people that scour documents, do certain types of research, and prepare reports. As outlined above, certain software can perform many of the tasks that would normally be performed by these aides and assistants. This allows for lower start-up costs which ultimately allows the firm to invest available funds in attracting more clients.
Lowers overhead costs
Most legal tech is licensed on a per month basis. These software packages differ greatly in pricing but all offer savings compared to what it would cost a firm to have a person manually perform the tasks the program does.
Reliability
People can be unpredictable at times. Illness, family emergencies, pregnancy, and a variety of other situations create a level of unpredictability that is not present in Legal-Tech software. Also, people are susceptible to changes in performance due to a wide range of factors. With AI-driven software a Law Firm can expect the same results any day of the year.
More competitive rates and increased profits
Because of the lower overhead costs associated with using legal tech software law firms often find they can charge less for their services than before. “This competitive pricing ultimately helps attract more clients. Furthermore, lower overhead costs also mean increased profits. Legal tech software does not require employee insurance and does not commit the standard human errors associated with document preparation and research,” says Elisa Norris, an AI expert at Writinity and Draft Beyond.
Automated Will writing and other documents
With legal tech software, many documents that have been traditionally written out by a lawyer or notary can be automated with just a few key bits of info. While this is not suitable for many types of documents, items such as wills, deeds, rental or purchase agreements, and many others can be written with greater ease and less time.
Save time
The use of AI-driven legal tech software helps produce reports and data reports faster and with greater accuracy than before. “This, in turn, allows lawyers and other legal professionals to perform their required work with greater productivity. Increased productivity means more work gets completed in a shorter amount of time which ultimately leads to the ability to take on more work,” explains Vanessa Millow, a tech journalist at Last Minute Writing and Academic Writing Tips.
Software is customizable
Law firms specialize in different areas of the practice and software can be tailored to fit one’s exact needs. What may be useful for one firm may not have any utility for another. Because of the nature of software development, legal tech can offer unique solutions to firm-specific problems. Some firms may choose to sort or analyze data in a certain way and these needs can be accommodated.
AI-driven legal tech software will continue to grow in popularity as advancements are made in the field. As previously stated, the sharp increase in legal tech start-up projects is a clear indicator that law firms are liking what they have seen so far. Those firms which embrace and adopt the new technology will have a decisive advantage over those that choose not to.
