With digitization the social standard of 2021, we thought it was high time we turned our tech scope to the law office.
Law might seem standard, traditional, and set in stone, but the digital age has affected us all. It is having as much of an impact in the courtrooms as it is having in our homes and offices. With digital resources influencing every aspect of our lives, digital evidence has long since wormed its way into our court systems. But now, it is spreading to the law offices themselves.
We glanced back at the last few years of technology in a working law office to see how it has changed matters. Not only that, but we also take a speculative glance forward towards the future trends of tech in law offices, courtesy of our friends at BSM Law.
Digital Law: How Tech Has Influenced Law Offices Pre-2021
Digital technology has come a shockingly long way in a short space of time. Think back to the year 2000, where iPhones had not been invented yet, and we were only just seeing the first websites on the internet five years previously. Likewise, the remote office concept might have been thought up in the eighties, but it didn’t come to actual fruition until the last two years when the pandemic forced it on many of us.
For the law office, the introduction of several technologies has made life easier. First, the introduction of laptops and personal computers allowed lawyers to work on the go. This tech quickly expanded by the addition of the tablet and video Smartphone capabilities. Lawyer spends much of their time traveling between appointments, so on-the-go law office technology has helped companies stay ahead of the curve.
Digital Tech in Law Offices of the Future
Right now, cloud computing is working its magic on all offices, law offices included. The ability to store client data offsite has freed up overheads for bricks and mortar projects, leaving thousands of businesses better off. In agencies that hold bulky client records, this system has provided relief in staffing, space, and IT departments. These offsite servers keep evolving, but we are particularly fascinated with Microsoft’s work in storing them under the sea.
Analytical feedback is the currency of the digital age, and we speculate that law offices will seek new ways to capitalize on this. Dashboard KPI tracking is extensive across the board, and if law offices are not already doing this, they are behind the competition.
Law Technology Today tips smartphones to be as powerful as laptops and propose they will be the virtual law office of the future.
Process automation is the way forward for many of the smaller, repetitive tasks in law offices. The documentation checking, the delivery of emails and forms, and spreadsheet management can all be automated already. Since lawyers have paperwork-heavy jobs, any business process automation will help free up time and be visible in the profits retained.
Uniform Commercial Code Filing
One way that digitization is changing the law office is by filing Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) documents. These documents were filed in paper form in the past, but now they can be filed electronically. This change has made it easier for lawyers to file UCC documents and has reduced its time to point them. Professionals who specialize in ucc filing can help with this process.
Conclusions on Law Office Tech and Further Thoughts
Offsite servers will get better, smaller, and have higher capacity. Lawyers will look to AI and automation to free up time, and part of this will lie in remote work capabilities. Unfortunately, that commute is time expensive. Law and technology do not typically mix, but seeing where the two marry in future projects will be interesting.
