Technology has always been at the centre of human progress. The pace of this progress really started to take off in the 18th century after the First Industrial Revolution, when manufacturers started using new tools and processes plus modern production methods to save time, generate output faster, and increase the return on capital invested.
A few centuries later, technology has become so ubiquitous that we can’t imagine modern human society without computers, smart devices, and the Internet. Technological innovation has progressed at a breakneck pace in the past few decades. The emergence of cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and a host of other innovations have already made a tangible impact on many areas of human society, resolved numerous real-world problems, and created new growth opportunities for companies in every industry all over the world.
The legal industry is one great example. In recent years, and particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, law firms have successfully leveraged technology to adjust to the post-COVID new normal and the new world of work. Software products built for legal purposes – collectively known as legal technology or legaltech – have enabled legal specialists and their employees to work remotely, access required information, and serve their clients.
If used correctly, legaltech can eliminate many of the challenges created by change. It can eliminate chaos and delays during deal negotiations and enable law firms to provide value-added services to clients. The new-age avalanche of new technology can also enhance client relationships and humanise legal practices. Here’s how:
Legal professionals can focus on delivering great client experiences
Client experience matters in every industry and for every type of client. The legal industry is no exception. But when lawyers are running around dealing with paper documents, edits and revisions, manual signatures, searching for attachments, creating closing books etc., they get too bogged down in all the little details to focus on delivering great client experiences.
Transaction management software can simplify many of these tasks. Legal teams get interactive checklists that can improve their productivity and efficiency, while external parties can easily access documents, track document versions, and monitor deliverables at every stage of the deal process. Clients are also looped into the entire process so no one has to waste time on unnecessary paperwork or manual activities. Instead, teams can take advantage of automation and digitisation to focus on the tasks that can improve client experiences.
For example, they can easily organise automated signature packets, create closing books in minutes instead of days, and store, manage, update, and track all due diligence documents in a centralised repository. They can collaborate with each other using cloud-based communication and workflow tools. All these legaltech capabilities mean that law firms and their people spend less time on repetitive, mundane, or low-value tasks. Instead, they can give more attention on client communications and service delivery, ultimately ensuring that every client gets the best possible experience and outcome.
Improved communication and collaboration between legal teams
Advanced transaction management tools efficiently and seamlessly synchronise communication between team members. They get real-time updates with centralised due diligence and closing checklists. Some tools can also convert manual processes into secure collaborative workspaces, making it easy for legal teams to manage inputs from multiple parties and ensure that everyone is on the same page at all times.
There’s no need to manually update closing checklists or circulate updates to deal participants via email, phone call, face-to-face meetings, etc. The tools’ built-in collaborative and communication features will ensure that everyone has the right information whenever they need it to collaborate with others or to make decisions to move a deal forward. The result: win-win situations for everyone involved in the deal.
Law firms can protect their assets from cybercriminals
Legaltech can be a great ally for law firms from a cybersecurity perspective. The right tools can protect their business-critical assets and prevent cybercriminals from stealing or manipulating clients’ sensitive data.
Legal companies can by place their confidential documents and communications into a secure platform so they no longer have to rely on insure email communications. They can also remove metadata from contracts, wills, agreements, and other types of legal documents to further protect their information from bad actors. Transaction management tools are also useful since they not only automate and streamline processes, but also mitigate the risk of data exposure to unauthorised parties.
Furthermore, with legaltech, legal teams don’t have to rely on manual files or human memory to extract exemplar material. Instead, they can use collaborative workspaces to reuse previous work and accelerate many crucial steps in deal processes, such as creating custom closing books and signing all pages.
Conclusion
Today’s law firms have many options when it comes to choosing legaltech for their requirements. The right software can help them streamline many tasks that used to take up too much time and effort in the past. Streamlining also allows their teams to give more attention to serving their clients and provide the best possible experiences to them with every deal.
