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Disruptive technologies

05 February 2009
Issue: 7355 / Categories: Features , Profession , Technology
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Law firms should use emerging technologies to boost productivity, says Greg Wildisen

It is not that long ago that technology and lawyers seemed about as compatible as oil and water. Many saw the emergence of technologies such as email and time-recording systems as challenges to long cherished ways of working while others regarded technology as a fundamental threat to their business models. Fast forward a few years, and the picture is very different indeed. Formerly late adopters, today many law firms are now ahead of other professionals in their use of technology as they have realised the genuine benefits it can provide for a knowledge industry.

Progress
Technological progress continues unabated and a range of new tools and systems is again transforming the way that lawyers work. Law firms have already exploited technology as a means for making traditional processes—communicating with clients, time recording and workflow management, for example—much more efficient, but the deployment of information technology is now rapidly moving past this point as new technologies enter the mainstream.

Chief amongst these are so-called “collaborative” technologies

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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