Technology and flexible working

To remain at the forefront of progress and innovation in the legal market, a firm needs to be able to take risks and to grasp new ideas. Otherwise, the firm simply gets left behind as there is someone else who is willing to capitalise on them.

New Technologies

New Technologies can and will play a crucial role in the legal industry. One way is by the use of a smart contract. They can assess whether a particular breach has taken place and will be able to enforce the payment of damages accordingly. Consequently, trust in the performance of a contract is reallocated from fallible humans to infallible code.

However, smart contracts are inherently limited in what they can actually monitor and enforce. This is because we know the real world to be far more unknown and vague. Certain decisions need a judgment call weighing up multiple factors, such as industry standards, regulatory frameworks and the ongoing business relationship. Commonplace legal standards as “reasonable care” or “good faith” are rather impossible to be expressed in code and are not easily refereed on even by experts.

Problems will also occur similarly in contracts dealing with multiple parties across supply chains where it is impossible to assign causal blame for a breach to one party. To avoid leading to unfair or unintended results, human gatekeeper is still needed to safeguard smart contracts.

Benefits

If automation is used properly, it will enhance business processes across all areas, from compliance to research to documentation creation and review. This is because Artificial Intelligence completes a contract review in a minute or two, increasing the speed, quality and value of day-to-day contract reviews for businesses and freeing up in-house legal teams to work on more gratifying and important tasks.

The Solicitors Regulated Authority (SRA) suggests that Artificial Intelligence has the potential to increase business efficiency for both law firms and their clients. SRA’s reports estimate that it could create 14.9 million new jobs in the UK by 2027 and add £630 billion to the economy by 2035.

Blockchain technology may have begun with Bitcoin, but the transparency and accountability it offers have gained the attention of the world. This technology is already being used in many industries, from pharmaceuticals to retail. Ethereum Blockchain runs smart contracts, and by utilizing them, legal professionals can store digital information on the Blockchain and share it with applicable parties in real-time. The Blockchain then verifies information and identities to prevent fraud, eliminating the need to draft contracts in courtrooms.

Moreover, Blockchain can be used in other legal transactions. By moving land rights to the Blockchain, the data is less likely to be breached and landowners could more easily manage and transfer rights for a fraction of previous costs. This technology is very useful in the legal world as it increases security and facilitates automation and efficiency in an industry where time is money!

Flexible working

Challenges

Flexible working is widely used lately due to the impact of COVID-19 but careful consideration will have to be given due to the implications.

Law firms will need to adapt to remote working. The legal profession is very traditional and is probably one of the last to embrace this model, but it is happening more than ever now. However, as many employees become able to work remotely, accommodating these absences will be more difficult where agile working is ​not possible​. It is worth noting that commercial work is mainly team-oriented; therefore, when solicitors are required to work individually from home, the pace that firms usually maintain inevitably slows down.

Other issues with flexible and remote working include cybersecurity and client confidentiality. The risk to client data, for example, is an important factor as family members and visitors could be able to see sensitive information. There is also the risk of client information being overheard during telephone calls; as not all people working from home have the ability to work from a private room or office. Therefore, law firms must find ways to tackle these challenges and show more trust to their employees.

Benefits

Overall, flexible and remote working opens up a wider talent pool for firms as it is particularly beneficial to working parents which in turn firms will be able to include this group in their working practices. Technology has developed so much which offers the option to conduct many tasks remotely. It not only offers the ability to collaborate but it also eliminates the need to physically sign and mail documents, and holding meetings virtually can keep relationships strong and allow projects to move forward. This saves time and helps avoid potentially risky travel and meetings especially during these crazy times. Thus, firms have an opportunity to focus on work-life balance which will also let them recruit and retain top talent and improve their gender balance.