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Overcoming the fear factor in legaltech

14 March 2019 / Ben Stoneham
Issue: 7832 / Categories: Features , Profession , Technology , Legal services
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Ben Stoneham offers some joined-up thinking on delivering the next generation of digital legal operations

  • Savvy practices who think carefully about which solutions are scalable now will likely find themselves transforming their businesses and services with practical efficiencies.

In an industry as well established and rooted in tradition as the law, it’s fair to say that few innovations have caused quite so many ripples as legal automation. Following a 2017 prediction that some 67,000 legal jobs could be lost within a generation, significant concerns arose around the growing impact of automation on the legal profession. Two years on from this future gazing however, the industry isn’t over-run by robots as many feared it might be and, in fact, the advantages of automation are starting to become clearer.

The Law Society’s most recent Lawtech Adoption Research report acknowledges the current state of play in the sector —momentum is building, but slowly. The numbers of potential lawtech solutions in the market—from legal documents-as-a-service through to ebilling and practice management solutions— demonstrate

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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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