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The world is facing disruptions that no one prepared it for. However, one thing that has remained constant is the technological augmentation in all spheres of our lives — in some areas more than others. 

One of the last industries of our modern world that have remained largely unaffected by technological disruption is the legal industry. Because of this, even though modern society is quickly becoming an internet-based digital society, the legal industry and infrastructure that exists to cater to society’s needs is still based on models developed many generations before and needs a massive upgrade. 

While the pace of evolution of the legal industry is nowhere as desirable as that of other industries like (say) banking or finance, the legal industry is however witnessing a gradual switchover to more technology-fuelled operational ways. The advent of technology has prompted law firms and lawyers to finally recognise the need to incorporate technology in how they extend their services. 

However, a large number of traditional law firms and lawyers still debate about what legal tech is and what it isn’t. We’ve answered some of these basic but often-asked questions below while giving examples along the way of the legal tech companies in India which are fuelling the change. 


Contents

What is Legal Tech?

What is not Legal Tech?

What is the Need for Legal Tech in India?

Types of Legal Tech

Latest Trends in Indian Legal Tech

What is legal tech?

Legal tech is any technology that is specifically designed for application in the legal industry and increases or enhances the way legal services are created, distributed, or consumed in society. Legal tech is a broad term and can include on the other hand technologies which improve (say) the day-to-day productivity of certain segments of the legal sector (such as lawyers), and on the other hand, can be fundamentally disruptive and change how legal expertise is traded in human society. These tasks may range from creating legal documents, tracking case status, scheduling meetings and billing clients.

Contrary to popular myths held by many, legal technology is not technology created for lawyers. Though it definitely includes lawyers as a market segment that attracts a number of use cases, legal tech is far broader than that. 

For instance, legal tech can enable end consumers of legal services to get cheaper and quicker access to justice, can help the justice system function more efficiently, and pave way for better distribution models and supply chains which can benefit businesses and individuals optimize their legal function and hence increase their profitability, minimize risks, while also reducing costs, and therefore help solve the more for less challenge.    

Some legal tech solutions focus on helping lawyers and law firms acquire a larger client base. Some focus on enabling lawyers to serve their clients better and operate more efficiently. The primary focus, therefore, is enabling legal professionals to make their services more accessible for their clients. The focus is also on making it easier for the judicial system to impart justice by optimising expendable tasks.

Recent advancements in high-technology such as blockchain, automation, and artificial intelligence are also a part of legal tech since they provide fundamental architectures, systems, languages, and models that can spring a host of use cases that can solve the legal sector’s most pressing problems. 

Related: AI in the Indian judiciary: 8 solutions to our current struggles

What is not Legal Tech

Business Tech

Technologies like Microsoft Office, email tools, communication software, and accessibility tools are not legal tech. The applicability of these tools is common for all industries, and are not specially designed for legal technology. In our understanding, the primary and most crucial element of calling a technology “legal technology” is its special applicability to the sector which is being prefixed to tech. Otherwise, it is better to simply give it a more generic name like technology, software, or solution.

Legal Tech vs Law Tech

The two terms “legal tech” and “law tech” sound interchangeable, but in the last decade based on usage they have acquired different meanings and scope. 

Broadly speaking, “legal tech” today is understood to include two kinds of technologies: first are solutions that are designed for the service provider of legal products or services (lawyers, law firms, in-house counsel providing assistance to the business) and therefore keep the needs of the legal professional at the heart of the solution. Second, are technologies and solutions that are created for the end-user or service-taker, and help the end consumer access legal services and justice more efficiently. 

The second of these set of technologies are often referred to as “law tech”. In other words, legal tech includes law tech. Law tech is considered to be a subset of legal tech.   

We have written a more detailed explanation about the meaning and scope of legal tech versus law tech in our post the difference between legal tech and law tech

Legal Tech is not Tech Law 

This is one of the easiest myths to dispel, though unfortunately, it is also quite widespread. A lot of people confuse “tech law” with “legal tech”, unsurprisingly so, because they sound so similar. However, these are not even remotely related. Tech law is a branch of law that regulates the use of technology, such as issues like cybersecurity, privacy, cybercrimes, and so on. It is the suffix in both terms that make it clear that tech law is about the application of law to technologies issues, and legal tech is about the use of technology to improve the legal sector.

What is the Need for Legal Tech in India?

Global Outlook 

With law firms growing in size and geographically, the call of the hour is to expand the reach of their services as well. The task is achievable but requires legal tech like information and technology infrastructures, matter management tools, and internal team management solutions. These legal techs can also help lawyers deliver their services to a wider audience and create their digital presence. With a better digital footprint and omnipresent services, lawyers can enhance their global outreach and leverage international markets.

Faster Legal Research

Thanks to the new-gen AI and natural language processing tools, legal research is now easier for lawyers. AI-powered legal research tools enable lawyers to analyse complex matters in minutes. It also allows lawyers to sift through large sandhills of data and find relevant case laws, judgments, and track real-time case updates in seconds. 

Related: Beyond Manupatra and SCCOnline: AI-Fueled Legal Research in India

Speedy Dispute Resolution

Traditional dispute resolution processes can be costly and time-consuming, and may not even produce the desired outcomes. However, legal technologies like smart contracts can disentangle complex disputes and allow for more affordable and quicker dispute resolution. Presolv360, for instance, offers its users to add dispute resolution clauses to their contracts online, and resolve their disputes via e-arbitration or e-mediation.

Related: Online Dispute Resolution in India: A no-nonsense guide

More Transparency in Operations

Clients are becoming more conscious and care more today about the processes of their service providers than ever did before. Clients want clarity from their lawyers about the kind of services they are getting against their money. Until recently, the task of keeping the client updated and ‘showing’ the value they are in fact creating for the client demanded time and systems, due to which a lot of times the true value of the services would not be realised by the client. With many legal tech tools now available to keep clients updated about the progress, lawyers can show their value more accurately.

More Accuracy

With online document management and AI-powered smart contracts, law firms can also reduce the chances of error in drafting and vetting legal files. With manual processing, human errors can be easily overlooked. However, with document managing, tracking and docketing solutions, lawyers can provide more accurate and error-free documentation to their clients.

Related: Top 7 Lawyer Practice Management Software for Indian Professionals

More Jobs for Lawyers

Legal tech does not mean that AI or robots will replace lawyers one day. In fact, blending technology into law has created more job opportunities for lawyers. Lawyers who do not wish to choose the traditional courtroom option have assorted career options that bolster how lawyers extend their services. Careers like legal technologists, legal designers, information architects, etc. are some of the by-products of advancements in legal tech.

Types of Legal Tech

What is Legal Tech for Lawyers?

Lawyers can streamline their practice by integrating practice management and legal research tools in their operations. Even the most tech-phobic lawyers and law firms cannot deny the role technology has played in streamlining legal research. Legal tech for lawyers such as Precily and LegitQuest can help lawyers research faster and improve the accuracy of their research results significantly. 

B2C Legal Tech

B2C legal tech involves using technology to reach and serve the consumers directly. This kind of legal tech aims to simplify complex legal processes for consumers for faster delivery of services. Digital tax filings, trademark registration, title research, etc., are some of the B2C legal tech companies using technology and platforms to provide legal services far more efficiently and affordably than previously available options. In India, companies like IndiaFilings and VakilSearch operate in this segment.

Enterprise or B2B Legal Tech

GCs are becoming more strategic and are delegating their companies’ operations to a new arm of law – legal operations. An internal legal operations team improves how an enterprise handles its legal matters by employing digital tools, systems and processes. Legal tech for enterprises can streamline functions such as

  • E-billing and invoice management

  • Data storage and protection

  • Contract Management System (CMS) or Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM)

  • NDA automation

  • Matter management and tracking

For instance, Practice League digitalises enterprise legal operations with its suite of document management, risk management, legal contract management, e-billing and compliance management tools.

Law Tech

Law tech refers to digital systems that enable people to access legal services more easily. It commonly comprises legal marketplaces where consumers can digitally connect with lawyers and law firms for their matters. They get a wider pool of legal professionals to choose from as per their budget, complexity of matter and court. Legal tech startups like LawRato, MyAdvo, etc., serve as law tech platforms, making it easier for users to access legal services.

Justice Tech

Justice tech aims to enhance the productivity of the judiciary, enabling it to impart justice more quickly and affordably. It also focuses on making the legal system more accessible, transparent and accountable. In India, for instance, the eCourts project allows consumers to register cases online, access copies of judgments digitally, find automatically generated cause lists, court diaries and case status.

On a similar line, the progress of legal tech has created a new domain of alternative dispute resolution. It comprises online mediation and arbitration, together known as “online dispute resolution”. CADRE is one of India’s many online dispute resolution platforms. The platform allows users to upload their contracts and supporting documents digitally, and resolve their dispute and receive a legally binding award.

Latest Trends in Indian Legal Tech 

From online legal proceedings to legal process automation, the Indian legal industry is set for a major transformation in the coming years. As artificial intelligence, natural language processing and blockchain infiltrate the industry, lawyers and law firms will be able to reform their practice and replace their traditional ways with more client-centric methods.

It is expected that lawyers will also open up to technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality to remotely communicate with clients, train new lawyers, and collaborate with experts from other disciplines. 

Legal areas are getting split into more niche disciplines that require expertise beyond the law. With new law careers in India, the demand for a new breed of lawyers has also increased. Individual consumers and enterprises both look for more technology-steered legal solutions. There is also a high demand for professionals who can do more with less, and legal technology will play a crucial role in helping them meet that challenge. 

Owing to these developments, it is safe to affirm that legal tech is here to stay and integration of technology into law is, therefore, a crucial catalyst to the re-engineering of the legal sector.

 

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