At Hook Tangaza we are interested in the interface of law and technology and how this impacts on the delivery of legal services globally. Technology is facilitating the trade in cross-border legal services, helping firms reach a larger client base and providing consumers with a broader market of legal specialists and tools with which to access legal advice and information. Strategic collaboration between the legal and tech communities is presenting new opportunities, services and products and enabling the traditional practice of law and law firms to better protect themselves and clients, provide services more efficiently and innovate across their service sectors. However, it is important to note that for all the talk of robot lawyers and articifial intelligence, technology remains an important enabler and tool, but not a strategy in itself.
Efficiency: As clients demand better value, firms are now considering how to use technology to deliver elements of their business strategy that in turn deliver greater value and reduced costs to their clients. Smaller firms are now capable of competing with larger, better resourced firms by automating tasks that were previously time and resource consuming. For institutions and regulators, technology can enable better communication and facilitate the provision of services to members including continuing education and management tools which lead to a stronger sector.
Innovation: Institutions and firms can utilise technology to reach and engage with their members and clients in a way that was not conceivable even five years ago. Law firms are developing new types of products and services as a result of the range of new possibilities that technology is introducing to the legal sector. Just as law firms are adapting, regulatory bodies and institutions are starting to understand this brave new world of technological potential and leverage these tools to keep pace with – and stay ahead of – the individuals and firms they regulate and represent.
Protection: Of course, technology can also bring risk to those operating within the legal services environment. For instance, the rise of cybercrime and targeting of law firms as the repositories of client information has galvanised the tech sector to develop tools that firms can use to implement their internal policies and systems to protect themselves and their clients and mitigate against the unfortunate consequences of operating in a technology-driven world.
