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Technology is the future that much is true. Trends in the industry are changing the way we work and accomplish things. One particular industry where the impact of technology is just starting to be felt is legal. Legal professionals have, for the longest time, relied on brilliance, perceptiveness, and industriousness to deliver cases. Now, technology is offering a helping hand, and it has the potential to transform the legal industry for the better.
1. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is taking the legal industry to a new level. Tasks like sorting through case files typically consume a lot of time and manpower. AI systems can be equipped with algorithms that rapidly analyze all available documents and select those that are most relevant to the case. AI is pushing the boundaries of what law professionals can achieve by giving them a wider scope and a more thorough comb to sift through several legal documents much faster and more accurately.
2. Automation
The legal industry is still a ways from full automation. Nevertheless, strides are being made in this department with an aim to optimize the legal process.
The birth of new systems to handle aspects like electronic discovery, compliance, and more importantly, case tracking, has allowed attorneys more time to focus on the more important high-level tasks. Attorneys will soon be able to manage their entire practice from one focal point, all thanks to automation—a future that looks promising for the legal industry.
3. Organization Management Tools
Modern problems demand modern solutions, and there’s no question that there’s a growing demand for organization management solutions. Tech companies are expected to embody their philosophy by using technology to improve every aspect of running the company. Though law firms traditionally do not rely on technology to run smoothly, times have changed.
Legal management system software has evolved dramatically over the years. Organization management needs no longer be a task for an entire team of employees, but rather, a job for one of the several company management software available. The day-to-day running of a law firm can draw away valuable legal talent from your team to handle menial organizational jobs—file organization, case tracking, case assignments, etc.—instead of helping win cases.
4. Electronic Discovery
Electronically stored information (ESI) is now admissible in court, which means law firms need the right technology to address the realities of the digital courtroom. Today, information discoverable in litigation includes emails, text messages, instant messages, voicemails, smartphone data, and information stored off-disk (on the cloud). With the increasing utilization of ESI in the courtroom, there is a similar demand in technology to match the complexity of the e-discovery process.
5. Off-disk Data Storage
Local storage devices have one crucial weakness: they are susceptible to physical manipulation. Evidence stored in a hard drive can easily be misplaced or destroyed, but when data is stored on the cloud, it is untouchable to everyone without access to that specific cloud account.
Off-disk data storage is providing the legal industry with a crucial service: data protection. You can argue about the importance of physical evidence in winning cases, but you can’t deny that data is more important when analyzing past events.
Technology has its place in the legal industry, where it is helping a lot of professionals work smarter and faster. The future could bring better case resolution rates, faster court proceedings, and a more just sentencing system if the technology is integrated appropriately.
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