LegalTech – what is hidden behind it
LegalTech – another buzzword like FinTech, RegTech or MedTech. What is LegalTech all about and, even more importantly, is LegalTech needed and what benefits does LegalTech bring?
LegalTech is an abbreviation of Legal Technology and refers to the area of information technology that automates legal activities. However, there is no uniform definition and the term is used in different ways. By combining law and technology, various goals can be achieved: on the one hand, the efficiency of legal work can be increased and legal activities can even be automated; on the other hand, access to law can be made easier or automated for potential clients (or customers). It is therefore also assumed that LegalTech considerably changes or will change access to law.
But what does this mean in concrete terms?
LegalTech for lawyers
Search engines do not only make our lives easier in very different facets. Search engines also make the work of lawyers worlds easier. Where in former times hours of research had to be done in libraries, today search engines support in finding relevant jurisprudence, books and technical journals in fractions of seconds. In the meantime, this has long since ceased to be new. So why a "new" name LegalTech?
Today, LegalTech applications support lawyers in a wide range of areas. Starting with job-specific applications such as dictation tools or ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tools for lawyers who have to comply with strict legal as well as professional duties. Today, however, applications for efficient administration are by no means the only ones on the agenda. Rather, legal work itself is being made more efficient with technical support, and that beyond the research work described above. For example, document creation applications that often do not require programming knowledge are currently popular. For document reviews, artificial intelligence is put to use. Today, teams of lawyers no longer have to work for days on end for a Due Diligence (this refers to the examination of a company up for sale by a potential buyer). The machine can take over a significant part of the work.
LegalTech for clients / customers
You do not have a legal background and may now be wondering why LegalTech is or could be relevant to you. The relevance is indeed multi-layered.
On the one hand, one can of course argue that the work of lawyers is made more efficient by means of technology and that this reduces prices or efforts (especially lawyers still like to calculate their remuneration based on their efforts). This is positive for clients.
On the other hand, LegalTech offers clients completely new opportunities for using legal services. This usually happens via so-called marketplaces, where supply and demand are brought together via platforms. Very different types of services or products are "traded" on marketplaces.
Jurata is an example of such a LegalTech offering. The platform offers a directory of experts for lawyers, combined with the possibility of direct contact. In addition, information is provided in blog articles, which makes it easier to get a picture more quickly when a specific question arises and to find and consult a lawyer specializing in the area in question.
Direct services in the form of products are also offered to end customers via marketplaces. The examples of such services are numerous. They range from the independent creation of a consensual divorce or separation agreement including the necessary petitions for a court, to the calculation of a possible compensation due to flight delay, cancellation or the like based on passenger rights, up to the answering of concrete questions by a suitable lawyer.
In the corporate customer environment, the provision of flexible working resources as well as obtaining comparative offers are also popular areas of use for LegalTech providers via corresponding platforms.
Where in the past it was not always easy as a client to find the right lawyer, today this is greatly facilitated. In addition, there are quite a few offers in the legal field that allow deciding whether one still wants to consult a specialist at all or whether one is already best served with a "legal product" such as a sample contract or a generator for privacy policies.
How do you find your way around the jungle of offers?
This question arises for end customers and lawyers alike. Almost daily, startups in the LegalTech field are being founded. Having a constantly up-to-date overview of all offers is almost impossible. It is therefore much more important to know that there may be an offer for your need or your question. This already helps you to find corresponding results via search engines in the internet.
For lawyers, it is also important not only to know individual offers, but to have a broad picture of which processes can be optimized and what possibilities LegalTech offers. Rarely is only one LegalTech solution used in a business environment. Rather, it is an interplay of different areas that can be supported by technical solutions. Finally, it is not insignificantly important to know how the market behaves and which digital solutions are developing into standards. Probably very few people want to miss the connection to the essential developments of digitalization. LegalTech is to be understood simply as a "special discipline" of digitalization.
Getting access to corresponding basic information is relatively simple. Broad LegalTech knowledge is available on the internet through both articles and video recordings. However, for those who want to understand individual solutions or the market in a more concrete way, corresponding events – both physical and online – and, of course, exchange within corresponding professional circles are recommended.
Benefits of LegalTech
The fact that the numerous and diverse offers today already resemble almost a jungle should by no means deter you. Rather, imagine what possibilities you – both as a client and as a lawyer – had just 10 years ago. It becomes clear that the question of whether LegalTech is needed should not be asked. Rather, ask yourself in which framework you already use LegalTech and in which areas you can be supported by LegalTech. The fact that you found your way to the Jurata platform and are reading this post is certainly the best answer in itself.
