Author: Daniel Furlong

I would like to think I am not the only one who gets the impression that, with regards to legal tech, life is moving pretty fast. For clarity, legal tech broadly encompasses the use of software, applications, platforms and other technology to provide legal services and support the practice of law. Within this sector, new developments are reshaping the practice of law, while generative AI dominates all conversations on the future of the legal industry (and everything else for that matter).  Add to this a healthy amount of legal tech news sources reporting on all the latest trends, and the task of keeping up with what is happening can feel overwhelming for already overstretched legal professionals.

Despite these challenges, legal professionals are well-advised to stop and look around once in a while to avoid missing out on what is happening in legal tech.  For starters, more and more U.S. states, as well as Bar Associations/Law Societies in Canada are imposing technological competence obligations on lawyers. Attorneys now need to familiarize themselves with new technologies and products in order to be able to accurately assess their benefits and risks.  Aside from complying with professional duties, becoming technologically savvy will help legal professionals evaluate the strategic value of new technologies and capably meet client demands to use the most efficient and/or cost-effective tools. Increasingly, clients are also asking attorneys to serve as advisors and/or providers of technology solutions as part of their legal services. Beyond that, legal professionals should stay informed to understand and adapt to the potentially revolutionizing effects legal tech may have on the business of law and the legal profession.

In order to stay informed in a manageable way, I find it helpful to both establish routines and make learning about legal tech an interactive activity.  As mentioned before, there is a plethora of legal tech news sources available on the web.  It is a good idea to take a look through different blogs and news sources, pick your favorites, and then set up automatic updates at a pace that fits your schedule.  This keeps information that aligns with your interests and/or criteria flowing at a controlled pace. Beyond blogs and news sources, there are interesting legal tech podcasts for those looking for something to listen to, and their built-in episodic formats automatically manage the flow of information. Not sure where to start? Plenty of websites have compiled lists of what they consider to be the best sources of legal tech news. I suggest perusing their list and browsing the different options, but keep an eye out for the sources that pop up on different lists as those are likely to be the standouts.

For more interactive learning, I recommend attending legal tech conferences.  Numerous companies and associations offer conferences and seminars specifically focused on legal tech throughout the year.  These events provide opportunities to learn more about Legal Tech from expert panels, roundtables, product demos, as well as providing networking opportunities.  Listening to creators of legal tech solutions and people that are both using the technologies and are committed to transforming the legal industry is quite stimulating and helps foster an openness to technology, which is necessary to navigate the world of legal tech.  ClearyX has had the opportunity to sponsor a few amazingly informative conferences, including CANLIF Toronto, Legal Innovators California and Legal Innovators UK. Another way to further embrace technology is to take courses on an area of technology or an intersection between law and technology, that may be of particular interest to you. At ClearyX, for example, we have collectively enrolled in Harvard University’s introduction to computer science, CS50 for Lawyers. There are also plenty of AI training courses for lawyers, both free and paid, for those more interested in keeping an eye on AI. This more “academic” approach to learning about technology can be a good way of acquiring a deeper understanding of legal tech and bringing an innovation mindset to the confines of the legal world.

It is important to remember that legal tech is in a constant state of development and the question is not if it will impact the legal industry and the legal profession but to what extent it will continue to transform the practice of law. By creating a framework to stay informed with what is happening in Legal Tech and leaning in to technology, legal professionals will be well-placed to navigate changing times not by chasing trends or mimicking others but by making educated decisions on what best fits their business, client and/or career needs.

To learn more about legal tech, how it impacts your sector, discuss pain points ripe for an efficiency make over, or find out how ClearyX is utilizing technology to reimagine legal services, feel free to take a step forward and reach out.

*No AI was used or harmed in the drafting of this blog post (except for the picture below).

(Microsoft Designer-Image Creator)

On October 3, 2023, ClearyX analysts Kaitland Goulet and Egi Troka attended the Legal Innovation Forum in Calgary, Alberta. This year’s theme focused on how leadership and collaboration are driving change and delivering value in the evolving legal ecosystem. The following are key takeaways from the panels.  

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Driving Alberta’s Economic Innovation: Alberta has a culture of enterprise, having one of the highest number of new businesses in Canada. Legal leaders play a significant role in driving innovation as advisors and connectors who apply a business lens to risk tolerance. Innovation is driven by highly engaged, multi-disciplinary teams that complement each other’s skills and operate in a safe environment where opinions can be freely expressed. Innovative lawyers are collaborative and optimistic for change, having empathy for people’s problems and a passion to solve problems.

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Future of the Legal Ecosystem: In 2023, lawyers can take control of their practices and increase their productivity as GenAI tools are embedded in products and workflows. Companies like Simplex Legal and Goodlawyer are leveraging these tools to improve service delivery, with a focus on efficiency, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness. These tools can handle repetitive and tedious work, reducing errors and distilling buried insights. Use cases include the summarization, extraction and interrogation of a full suite of documents. The best legal tech tools are being created by people who are deeply embedded in the area of practice being targeted, as they know the area, pain points and where to look for inefficiencies.

The structure of the legal industry is changing. Investors are pouring more money into legal tech as the demand is driven by clients who request responsiveness and immediate results at a cheaper price. Law firms are feeding Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSPs) work. It is estimated that approximately 80% of ALSP’s revenue is coming from law firms, while the rest is from the Big4 and other sources. Meanwhile, law societies are using “sandboxes” to foster innovation, allowing for rule exemptions in regions like Arizona, Utah, and several Canadian provinces.

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Mastering Change Management: The reality is that individuals are either inspired or forced to change. Stakeholders in the legal industry have taken an entrepreneurial approach to change management. They encourage ongoing discourse and follow market demand to understand problems and craft appropriate solutions. Law firms have found that incremental change, rather than fundamental change is a more realistic and successful approach. When faced with resistance to change, the best approach is to ask why this resistance exists to help improve the change process and obtain better adoption. Regardless of the approach taken to innovation, lawyers’ duty of competence includes technological skills.

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Solving for the people puzzle: There is a disconnect between law school and legal practice due to generational and situational differences. Law students and young lawyers have different career aspirations and perspectives. Lawyers are moving to in-house opportunities much earlier in their careers than what is traditionally expected, largely due to beliefs of improved work-life balance, value alignment and flexibility with an in-house career. Millennials and GenZ employees tend to desire increased transparency and communication from leadership, as they were raised by families who included them in “grown-up” discussions. The pandemic has also transformed physical workplaces, adding another layer of complexity. Yet retention issues are often dismissed as a cost of doing business in big law firms, leading to a lack of motivation to foster a positive work culture. Ultimately, lawyers should focus on the impact they want to make, rather than chasing a dream job at a specific workplace, to have greater career satisfaction.

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In conclusion, the forum highlighted that technology will not replace lawyers but will equip them to deliver better value. As the saying goes, “Technology will not take your job away, but a lawyer who is better equipped to use technology will.”