Plenty of businesses, especially smaller legal firms, tend to think that Artificial Intelligence (AI), with its mysterious connotations and potential for disruption, is only accessible to large firms.
However the truth is that AI is not an expensive, unattainable ‘luxury’ any more, regardless of firm size or profile strength. In fact, its increased availability and adoption among firms of all sizes and in almost every industry suggests that AI for business is not just accessible, but also necessary. AI’s influence also extends to the legal industry. In 2018 alone, legal tech spending in the United States hit a massive $1 billion, with AI-based tools like case management software (e.g. eDiscovery) as well as solutions to automate business processes like patent tracking, becoming more commonplace than ever. Legal firms are also embracing services like live video-streaming to better connect with clients and serve them better.
Despite these positive occurrences, the legal industry is struggling to reconcile the benefits (pros) versus the fears (cons) of deploying AI-based solutions in their practices. Automation and enhanced client servicing aside, legal professionals worry about the ‘human’ toll of AI in their industry, particularly in its potential to eliminate some positions (like paralegal and legal research) and even reduce the number of billable hours a lawyer can charge.
Such fears and worries apart, some AI-powered software solutions are in great demand in law offices. These include productivity software, customised legal speech recognition software and of course the Workshare series of software for document comparison (Workshare Compare), document security (Workshare Secure) and transaction management (Workshare Transact) – all available from Prime Infotech!
To the uninitiated, AI can seem intimidating and even scary. However, legal professionals who use AI-based solutions soon realise its potential to make their lives – and the lives of their clients – easier. AI is here to stay so lawyers who embrace it wholeheartedly and without reservation will find that they are more productive and able to serve their clients better.
