Every year showcases new trends and innovations in the realm of digital solutions. The legal industry has evolved to keep pace with these developments, and in recent years several technologies developed specifically to assist with legal services have enabled adaptive businesses to gain a competitive edge over traditional outfits.
Your UK-based law firm may benefit significantly from working with a local software solutions company to develop bespoke technology that suits your needs in different aspects. Here are some key areas for your consideration.
Practice management
Legal practice management software has been around for years now, but recent innovations have shifted it away from the premises and towards cloud computing. This allows you and your team of lawyers to access data anytime, from anywhere, across different devices. While there are many possible features to weigh in your evaluation – and some of them may indeed cover other areas discussed later – make sure that any software solution meets the specific needs of your practice while also offering top-notch cybersecurity measures.
Billing and accounting
Any business needs to have an effective system of billing and accounting in order to get paid. Yet at the same time these tasks can be repetitive and are often outsourced. Software solutions in this area offer the benefit of keeping processes in-house while simplifying the workflow and improving efficiency. You can look into standalone tools which help create, edit, and share custom invoices, and manage accounting data. Integration with existing practice management software, if any, will further streamline your processes.
Data analysis
We might not quite have arrived at the point where robot lawyers begin taking over practices, but the case could be made that every law firm should be using AI-driven analytics to improve their business in some way. For instance, algorithms can identify strong arguments, missing or overturned cases through text analysis. AI can also help with risk management and reduce the costs of litigation, making your services more accessible.
Knowledge management
Your firm may be relatively new, or an established player – whatever the case, part of your strength comes from the expertise of your lawyers. Knowledge management software is a tool to help capture and disseminate this collective experience, so that your whole team has access to a body of knowledge which helps solve problems, win cases, and take your business further. Consulting with a database professional will help you develop the right management system for your practice.
Document storage and automation
Probably everyone at your practice has had more than their share of filling out and archiving paperwork. Software tools specific for the legal services industry can greatly streamline these tasks through automation. Beyond that, digital storage offers a secure backup which can also be efficiently sorted and indexed, so nobody wastes time rooting around for old and forgotten documents.
E-discovery
Technologies for electronic discovery will allow your team to swiftly produce digital information when requested in the course of litigation or investigation. Dynamic tags and other metadata will help include complex file types such as presentations, voicemail, archived websites, social media, and various forms of audio and video. As with many other solutions developed for the legal industry, there is potential for e-discovery products to overlap and integrate with others you may already be using.
These are just six ways in which technology is being used to innovate and disrupt in the industry. Find the solutions which work best for you and maintain your competitive edge.