The legal sector has spent the last decade under the influence of digital technology. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic further facilitated that impact. It increased the industry's reliance on automation, computers, and the Internet.
Innovations are changing the sector. Company leaders are coming up with new solutions due to changed circumstances, and many notable trends keep emerging and further altering the landscape.
Let's take a look at all the shifts the law sector went through so far.
Top Performance Indicators
Top juridical professionals discussed the notable performance indicators of this industry. The growing importance of legal technology is the critical performance driver for companies across Europe and the US.
However, there's a discrepancy between considering trends and being ready to address them. The primary reason for this disparity seems to be the difficulty of managing change.
In the same vein, there's a lack of communication between firms and legal departments. The most significant performance blocker comes from this factor, especially during a pandemic.
Legal Department Changes
Surveys find widespread gaps between the expectations and realities of law firms. Companies fail to fulfill employees' and clients' needs, mostly because they refuse to use technology to drive productivity and efficiency.
The legal market landscape is also changing. There's fierce competition from alternative service providers. Many firms are looking to invest more in industry-specific technology and training their staff to use it to respond to these challenges.
Current Tech Trends
With the new tech development underway, it's easy to overlook the tide of trends that already washed over the industry.
Remote working advanced, thanks to the improvement of personal devices employees use. There's also an evident correlation to the pandemic-induced lockdown that drove this shift.
Companies are discovering the financial and logistic benefits of this approach. So, the future of remote working seems bright.
Freelancing is another trend on the rise. It used to be rare in this sector due to security implications. Today, though, many firms reject rigid structures in favor of more flexible work approaches.
Moreover, innovation and new tech areas such as cybersecurity and AI are gaining traction among legal practices. From business phone systems to password-protected video conferencing, discoveries are facilitating business operations.
Finally, there's a direct response to coronavirus struggles. Many companies started creating relevant databases and developing policies to tackle the growing threat.
As one tax attorney explains, enrolled agents should offer clients a full range of representation and support. The new policies include help with COVID-related issues.
Increased Demand
In general, legal services are among the most important industries worldwide. With this year's circumstances, the demand is only to grow. According to LA Lawyers, proving liability is challenging whether you're in a car accident or suffered negligence from your GP.
When it comes to handling increased demand, it depends from one field to the next. Still, increased flexibility should help. Hiring freelancers and outsourcing legal services, which we saw during the previous year, became more critical than ever.
A New Path?
This year has shown how flexible and resilient this traditionally conservative field can be.
While facing the challenges of 2020, the legal industry made some significant shifts. In the future, these changes will enable the sector's survival and prosperity. It's exciting to think about all the advancements yet to come.