Today we are living in a society that is heavily driven by technology. This drive impacts just about every field, and encourages changes to suit the contemporary world. The field of law, specifically, has undergone numerous changes in just about every area of the process, from accusation, to evidence, to persecution.
For one, technology is changing the ways in which a lawyer and their client communicate, and how this is documented. A good portion of law firms allow their lawyers to communicate electronically with their clients in order to “enable lawyers to work remotely while diversifying the ways they communicate with clients and each other.” This allows lawyers to take advantage of the time when they are not with clients, as well as convey critical information without delay.
Additionally, managing and recording the files and cases of clients has become significantly easier based on the dependence on computers and programs for organization. This allows firms to reduce the amount of paper they are using, and find information that they are searching through with ease and without having to tear apart a filing cabinet. It also saves a significant amount of time, allowing those involved in law to focus on more critical aspects of their jobs.
New computing technology also allows law firms to process evidence, organize evidence, and gather analytics like never before. There are language processing tools that can be installed in a computer that examine text evidence and unravel more complex legal statements. It also helps process contracts. A relatively new tech startup, called LawGeex “uses artificial intelligence to analyze contracts and automate the editing and approval process. The organization claims it can use analytics to reduce the cost of contract reviews by 90% and save law firms 80% of the time they normally devote to contract review tasks.” These types of startups and programs used to outsource certain functions of the law system are becoming increasingly popular and possible in our technology driven world.
It is clear that these advancements are not only changing the way law firms function, but improving their functionality so human efforts can be allotted into more valuable areas. It is exciting to see how this field will continue to change in the future with more and more technological tools at the disposal of firms and companies.