The advances in technology have greatly transformed how law is practiced, with even greater change on the horizon.

Traditionally the legal profession has been slow adopters of technology, but this is changing as law firms are being forced to change how legal services are delivered, largely to better meet the demands of their clients.

The law firms of tomorrow will be the ones that innovate through leveraging technology, to deliver more efficient legal services. Those that are open to innovation and embracing technology will be the ones that lead the way. The ones that choose not to, will simply be left behind by an increasingly competitive market.

Stop your clients from looking elsewhere

Each year we see greater advancements in the technology, and also how firms are utilising the technology.

Most law firms are facing more pressures from their clients, as they want greater value, speed and innovation from their law firms. Law firms are having to look at new ways to deliver legal services, ways that are both flexible and cheaper.

When we look back a few years there has been considerable change in how the practices of law firms have evolved.

Learn about legal innovation and technology at LawFest 2017

Reduce the costs of running a law firm business

How we access case law, research, manage documents, dictate, bill and communicate has all changed significantly over that time. These tasks previously were manual exercises, mostly involving paper methods and took considerable time to complete. Many of these tasks are now being performed quicker, cheaper and more accurately through the assistance of technology.

In the future, there will be further automation of tasks that are time consuming, costly and presently performed by humans. Lawyers will be able to focus on practicing law and providing expert legal advice for their clients, instead of being restricted by time consuming administrative tasks. Further automation of legal tasks will enable law firms to be more innovative in how they service their clients.

New opportunities

Innovation through the use of technology is becoming a game changer for providing legal services. It is the opportunity to do things better, better than what we do at present and for less money.

This digital disruption means the law firm product has to change. Many legal services can now be commoditised, whilst others will look at new business models, pricing structures together with leveraging technology to help their firms practise law more efficiently.

The legal profession need to re-skill to take advantage of the developments in technology to stay relevant in your particular field. This will require many to diversify their skillset. This in turn creates a whole different area of law embark on.

Keeping up

It is becoming increasingly difficult to practise law without a grasp of technology. Technology competence now needs to be at the forefront of practitioner’s minds. Being tech savvy is an essential skill for lawyers and will become more so as technology evolves further.

Even if the legal profession is not currently embracing some of the technologies available, it is important to at least keep abreast of what opportunities that technology may bring, both today and into the future.

Find out more at LawFest

These are exciting times as lawyers and their firms realise that we need to do more with technology. If you want to learn more about innovative practices and drive greater efficiency within your organisation, and ultimately drive profitability, then LawFest is the event for you.

The one day conference is an opportunity for anyone involved in the intersection of technology and the law to develop their knowledge and immerse themselves in the latest topics and trends in this fast-changing area.

LawFest provides the opportunity to hear the experiences of what firms are currently doing here and abroad, at the same evaluating how technology may be used by lawyers and their firms in two or even five years’ time.