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Weighed down by admin?

30 September 2019
Categories: Legal News , Profession , Legal services , Technology
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Nearly half of all lawyers feel burdened by too much ‘low-value’ administrative work, research shows

In the UK, two-thirds of lawyers gave the opportunity to work in an intellectually stimulating environment as a key reason for their choice of profession, and more than a third became lawyers to do ‘rewarding work’, according to a survey of 258 lawyers (125 in the UK and 133 in the USA).

The survey, conducted by legal industry cloud provider Intapp, revealed that three-fifths of UK lawyers are satisfied with their work-life balance. However, 45% of UK lawyers complain they do more administrative tasks than they expected and nearly a fifth (18%) say either the majority or nearly all of their time is spent on low-value work.

Asked about technology and their expectations for the future, 30% of UK lawyers wanted their firm to modernise the workflow process and 29% felt their firm should provide services to make elements of their legal work more efficient.

Some 44% of UK lawyers want to see their firm invest in content or document management systems, 28% want to see investment in mobile-enabled technologies and 41% feel that artificial technology (AI) could help improve conflicts clearance.

Chris Turk, regional vice president, EMEA of Intapp, said: ‘These survey results have shown the impact that tools and processes available can have on the daily life of a lawyer.

‘Modern firms―those that take into account the environment of a firm, and the impact of technology on its employees―are the ones that will see the most positive change.’

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Clyde & Co—Sian Langer & Gemma Parker

Clyde & Co—Sian Langer & Gemma Parker

Firm strengthens catastrophic injury capability with partner promotions

DWF—Dean Gormley

DWF—Dean Gormley

Finance and restructuring team offering expands in Manchester with partner hire

Taylor Rose—Vicki Maflin

Taylor Rose—Vicki Maflin

Firm announces appointment of head of remortgage

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