Learn about the importance of legal technology and how these essential tools can advance your firm, helping you to stay competitive with other Canadian lawyers.
Many lawyers lack the fundamental knowledge necessary to understand the wide variety of new legal technologies that are available to them. And if they don’t try to change their ways soon, they could be left with a huge disadvantage over their closest rivals within the industry. Experts within the field have recently put a great deal of emphasis on the fact that legal tech has become more prevalent in the legal arena and it’s time for lawyers to play catch up. So, what does this mean for Canadian-based law firms as they look to stay competitive in 2020?
Did you know that Thomson Reuters got 42 percent of its sales from those in the legal profession in just 3 months? In one of the company’s more recent earnings announcement, they also detailed that much of their revenue came from Canadian law firms as well. As an Ontario-based company, it’s not uncommon for Thomson Reuters to see much of their revenue come from other Canadian companies. However, with a reported $12 million in earning coming directly from legal professionals, these numbers are significant for lawyers who looking to stay competitive by utilizing advanced tech. The CEO of the company, James Smith also recently told investors that there is a “healthy market” in the legal sector.
But technology has been slowly reaching game-changing status for lawyers over the last several years. With industry leaders like Daniel E. Pinnington, president and CEO or LawPro in Toronto saying that E-discovery has “completely transformed work.” Where once many years ago lawyers had to sift through mountains of paperwork and other important files, now they can utilize e-discovery tools and artificial intelligence to search through libraries of text and find relevant documents with ease. Advanced e-discovery systems are becoming smarter too. With the ability to refine one’s search based on human corrections to previous search results, these tools learn to become more accurate over time.
Blockchain is another tech tool used in the law profession that allows digital information to be distributed to others but not copied. This is ideal for use in creating permanent records and will soon be used for smart contracts as well.
One major factor that lawyers in Canada should consider when thinking about tech, is the fact that very soon, it’s likely that both clients and judges will require them to use technology in their research. One recent example of this is a recent court opinion over a dispute. In the dispute, the lawyer was ordered to pay a $900 research fee because the judge ruled that they could have used artificial intelligence to get results much more quickly.
As the use of legal technology escalates, these tools will allow lawyers to work more efficiently and store information more securely. Legal tech also helps to give clients and judges peace of mind in knowing that the lawyers they work with are dedicated to accurate research. Although artificial intelligence is still distinguishable from human intelligence at this point, experts within the field of legal tech estimate that it may be difficult to tell the difference between the two by 2040.
The best and most progressive lawyers in Canada understand that legal tech is a tool that should be implemented as part of their practice right now. Whether you’re looking to update your research software or you’re starting from scratch, the experienced and knowledgeable team at Compunet is here to help. Give us a call at (604) 986-8170 or contact us today for more information.
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