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5 ways the legal sector is changing

  • Emily Parsons
    Jun 28 2019, 02:27 AM
    The legal industry is currently undergoing changes to enable it to fit in the fast moving competitive world of today. These changes have made it possible for the legal sector to shift from the traditional legal practices and way of operating to modern methods that match with the current needs of the world while at the same time upholding professionalism and best practices of practising law. Here are some of the ways that the legal sector is changing.

    1. Investment in Cyber Security
    The threat of cybersecurity is real and has made the legal sector a target of ransomware. Cybercriminals target to steal sensitive data held by law firms and which can lead to data breaches. This threat has made law firms to invest in cybersecurity to avoid such occurrences from happening and which can lead to negative publicity and loss of crucial data held by the law firms.

    2. Use of Technology in Legal Work
    The Legal sector has embraced technology and incorporated it in their day to day operations. Law firms have started to employ cognitive tools which help to understand human thinking patterns and behaviours. This helps to understand a case better and aid lawyers in building a strong case. Use of technology has also helped to reduce paperwork in law firms and in courts. Some law firms, such as LegalVision, have begun operating completely online. Through technology, court proceedings can be stored securely in court servers and help court officials and administrators to have updated records of a judicial matter.
    Through automation also, all parties in a case can have up to date communication to follow up on an issue. The legal sector has also embraced the latest technological innovations such as video conferencing which enables court proceeding to happen even while all the parties are in different geographical places.

    3. Going Global
    The legal sector has also gone global with many law firms opening up more offices across the globe while others embracing partnerships and mergers. Such mergers and partnerships will enable law firms to have a global presence and grow their brand. It will also create job opportunities and enable them to pick the best employees in their regional offices.
    Globalisation will create competition for law firms to avoid losing clients and due to the presence of international firms who are aiming to maintain a global look and acquire top clients in their area of operation. Such competition will lead to the improvement of services offered by law firms to avoid loss of business and negative publicity.

    4. Work Balance
    Many law firms have started work balance policies to enable their employees to balance their life and work duties. Through this policy, employees can enjoy benefits such as telecommuting, flexible work timetable, to increase their productivity at the workplace. Policies such as telecommuting help employees to operate from their homes and do not necessarily have to report to a physical office. This work balance demonstrates a growing concern for law firms as they seek to make their employees more comfortable and productive.

    5. Advancement in Innovation

    Law firms are coming up with modern innovative methods of reaching clients and allow them to access their services. Some of the innovative ways include mobile applications which allow clients in remote areas to communicate with the legal team and access legal services. This type of innovation has been made necessary by the growing need by clients to access all services including making contact with law firms from their mobile phones at the comfort of their homes or offices.

    The legal industry is one of the sectors that have been experiencing change as technology changes across the globe. This change as demonstrated above is meant to enable the legal sector to offer better services to clients while at the same time improving the productivity of employees in the offices.
    Embracing this change early will help legal firms and all players in the legal sector to position themselves better in the competitive world and be able to meet the legal demands in the market.

    [Edited Jun 28 2019]



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