Salt Communications attended Legal Geeks virtual conference last week which once again provided plenty of insight into what this year’s hot topics are in regards to cybersecurity and technology in the legal industry. The topics ranged from Legal tech innovation, secure legal communications and automation.
Technology is increasingly becoming more important for law firms and legal practitioners, hitting an investment record of $1 billion in 2019. With Artificial Intelligence and automation readily available, legal tech is pursuing the most important trends worldwide. Legal Geek dived into the most important developments in legal technology for 2020 and how they are changing legal companies.
One of the most notable developments in legal technology continues to be AI (Artificial Intelligence) as discussed by Mari Sako during a bitesize talk. If worldwide specialists forecasted substantial growth in the production of Artificial Intelligence solutions in 2019, this technology will continue to bring new tools and features to boost work until the end of 2020. Even if 20 20 is the year of ‘reality check’ for many business leaders as they lay the groundwork for a practical AI-powered future, providers of legal tech solutions will most likely adapt and accept existing AI technologies in a bid to turn them into tools to help legal companies expand. From AI-powered judges, AI robot lawyers, AI-powered contract, matter or team management tools features, this trend will continue to find its use in day-to-day work and challenge the legal sector with questions such as “will robots take over jobs for lawyers?”
Another key takeaway from last week’s conference was the increase in automation. ‘Automation’ is another top keyword in 2020 and has been for many years of Legal Geek conference, the new McKinsey studies indicate that it is possible to automate almost 25% of the time of lawyers. This is one of the most critical ways to increase productivity and profitability in any legal undertaking, from business process automation to document automation. Providers of legal software solutions are now “automation-oriented” and have built many solutions to support lawyers and law firms in their everyday work. There are solutions that are already used all over the world, from matter management solutions, billing, and financial management solutions to contract automation solutions. Linda Bonyo stated “In 2020, automation tools and platforms to integrate different types of automation tools will bring a more business approach.”
The importance of secure communications was also a topic during the last day of the Legal Geek conference, with many speakers discussing the importance of secure communication when dealing with clients virtually due to COVID-19. These services are essential for lawyers working from home during these times, with many law firms having to adapt from face to face meetings with clients to having to manage their services virtually. The need to secure client communications has become even more important with the inability to meet face to face with a specific focus on mobile solutions with over 42% of case related communications being conducted via mobile devices.
Focusing on the needs of the client during the Coronavirus pandemic is highly important for law firms to keep clients engaged and protected. In 2020, each law firm and legal practitioner must have their own answers to questions such as “how will technology help the relationship between my law firm and my clients?” and “how can I add value with the aid of technology resources in this relationship?”
Technology has become crucial for law firms to operate effectively during these uncertain times and provide clients with the confidence that their matter is being handled effectively. As years go on, Legal Geek and events similar to this are becoming increasingly important for law firms who have the opportunity to prepare and plan for future legal technology budgets. As the legal market continues to become more tech-oriented, increased budgets and focus on legal technology will become more crucial to meet client expectations.
If you want to take your legal communications seriously during the challenges of online working, SaltLegal enables you to avail of an award winning platform that allows law firms to take full control of their communication, invite selected customers onto the platform and allow for secure communications with their lawyers in regards to specific legal matters. Get in touch to sign up for your 30 day free trial on SaltLegal.
For more information on this article, or to talk to a member of the Salt Communications team, please contact us on info@saltcommunications.com.
About Salt Communications
Salt Communications is a multi-award winning cyber security company providing a fully enterprise-managed software solution giving absolute privacy in mobile communications. It is easy to deploy and uses multi-layered encryption techniques to meet the highest of security standards. Salt Communications offers ‘Peace of Mind’ for Organisations who value their privacy, by giving them complete control and secure communications, to protect their trusted relationships and stay safe. Salt Communications is headquartered in Belfast, N. Ireland, for more information visit our website.
