Automation is a Force for Good

Automation is a Force for Good as Legal Market Value Sources Evolve

The future of the legal industry is automated, and most law firms are already embracing this reality (even if they don’t realize it yet). As law firms automate more legal processes, they’ll increase savings and productivity while providing high-quality services to more clients faster than ever before and at scale.

That’s a big promise, but it’s already coming to fruition. As automation continues to fundamentally alter the legal market, your law firm needs to be at the forefront of this change, not behind it.

The Sources of Value in the Legal Industry are Changing

Lawyers will always be valued for their skills and talent. Clients will always demand legal acumen, expertise, and experience. Today, however, when legal departments outsource legal work, 91% plan to also ask law firms to describe the technology they use to be more productive and efficient.

Law firm clients expect to pay for clear legal outcomes, not endless hours of associates performing low-value tasks. Research finds that across the corporate counsel community:

●     76% frequently negotiate discounts in response to surprise invoices;

●     74% delay payment on legal bills that exceed their expectations;

●     72% regularly challenge individual line items in law firm invoices; and

●     81% are considering working with alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) in the future.

ALSPs now crowd the legal marketplace. And a plethora of DIY legal tools such as LegalZoom and Hello Divorce make it easy for more individuals to take part in the legal process without hiring a lawyer.

Automation enables ALSPs and DIY platforms to offer clients swift, targeted, and affordable solutions. Law firms can capture the value of automation, too, and gain the speed and flexibility needed to compete. An automated legal service framework that reduces effort and accelerates outcomes significantly increases the value of legal services for everyone involved.

Firms Already Use Technology to Save Time and Money

Many legal professionals have been hesitant to embrace automation, worried that machines will displace their jobs or cause profits to decline. However, automation is nothing to fear, and you’re most likely further on your journey to a more efficient firm than you might think.

Consider how even the most traditional law firms must file court documents electronically! Over the past 50 years, law firms have already become much more efficient and productive through technology. For example, firms of every size use software to manage client and matter files, eliminating hours of copying, filing, and searching for answers hidden in documents in rooms full of file cabinets.

That was just the start. Now, nearly 9 out of 10 attorneys say legal technology is crucial to meeting client demands, according to a recent survey. The most popular uses for legal technology are: billing (81%), legal research (70%), and e-signatures (69%). Respondents also used timekeeping (63%), cloud storage (62%), records management (59%), and matter management (53%) tools.

Technology has helped law firms deliver high-value services faster at lower costs since the first days of word processing. Tech-forward law firms have built on that momentum, going so far as to automate even more legal work inside their own captive ALSPs—the ALSP segment with the highest growth rate in 2021.

How Automation Drives Significant Value

Today’s firms are taking the next step forward and fully leveraging automated tools that can:

●     perform additional routine legal tasks according to sets of rules to be executed as conditions dictate

●     independently weigh factors, make calculations, and perform decision-tree analyses,

●     follow custom rules and if-then instructions flawlessly.

Legal professionals can standardize legal workflows that software systems execute without constant human input. Lawyers will also continue to influence legal processes alongside automation through "human-in-the-loop" offerings, which Gartner predicts that 30% of new legal technology automation solutions will include by 2025.

No matter how automation is applied, lawyers can consistently deliver the appropriate legal documents and advice, and clients can get quick and easy access to answers and solutions without engaging in the time-consuming, error-prone manual processes of the past—which is a major driver of value.

Embracing Automation and Scaling Legal Services

Innovative law firms also use automation to offer flexible online legal service delivery models that can scale to meet market demand, similar to the DIY tools mentioned above. These are typically lower-cost service options that automate many of the tasks involved, such as:

●     collecting client and matter data through online forms and questionnaires

●     auto-generating documents tailored to specific legal needs and circumstances

●     managing client relations and billing through online portals (e.g., sending automated emails)

Firms can revise automated workflows at any time to respond to new regulations or evolving client needs. Rather than billing higher rates for more hours, lawyers can profit by serving more clients more cost-effectively.

As the legal market further expands, automation will continue to drive significant value for all stakeholders. If you’d like to learn more, call me or Amicus Capital Group right away. We’ve watched the legal industry evolve and can provide insight into what the next several years may hold. To discuss, call our office at (877) 926-4287.