Hence, there’s no denying that app development is progressively turning into an attractive market, especially for the startups. Here are a few stats related to mobile app for your better understanding:

• As per Statista, mobile apps are expected to generate over $935 billion in revenue by 2023.
• Over 3.48 million apps are available on Google Play Store. 
• Over 1.96 million apps are available for download on the Apple App Store.

• 69% of all US digital media time comes from mobile apps.
• The average smartphone owner uses 10 apps per day and 30 apps each month.
• As per a report, 49% of people open an app 11+ times each day. While 21% of millennials open an app 50+ times per day.

But despite this rising popularity in app usage and mobile app development, there are several legal and ethical issues that app developers must abide by to develop a long-lasting and profitable product. In this blog, we have listed some of the crucial legal issues for mobile apps.

What makes an app legal?

Here are a few crucial mobile app legal requirements that you must consider while developing an app:

1.  Confidentiality agreements

To protect your legal app ideas from possible stealing or competition, sign a confidentiality agreement. In most app development environments, confidentiality issues may arise in a scenario where you outsource third parties. A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is considered the most familiar way to protect your product idea. Generally, NDAs restrict information dissemination about a particular project or product. They also limit the information to the people who have signed the document. For the uninitiated, NDAs can be signed with multiple parties.

NDAs are especially useful in the following situations:

• NDAs protect sensitive information disclosed during the app development phase. (For instance, passwords, source code, or business plans)
  
• They protect your business from possible risks when outsourcing people who have also worked with competitors
  
• Keep your app a secret while under development
  
• Maintain confidentiality of trade secrets

2. Intellectual property rights

Intellectual property (IP) relates to all work that is original and created during the mobile app development process. During the app development process, you and your team will be creating legal app ideas, original content, designs, logo, app names, source code, etc. These all original elements are considered IP and belong to you. Your company needs to register them as trademarks, copyright, or patents to protect the app idea.

• Copyright – It protects your app’s source code, artistic or written work, and design. Your app will be safe from unauthorized copying. 
• Patents – Patent protection covers certain methods, processes, and products used in app development. They are generally new and non-obvious.
• Trademarks – Trademark identifies the source of origin of goods or services. It often includes protection for things like your app’s logo, name, and slogan. Most of the app development companies register at least their app’s name as a trademark.
  

3.  Jurisdiction

If you’re planning to launch a product overseas, make sure that a future product complies with local laws. Before marketing and distributing your product in international markets, hire a legal tech service expert to help you with all legal work. This would help you to understand the laws of other countries for efficient launch of the product.

4. Incorporate a business

You must know how you want to operate your business. You can act as a sole trader, become a partner in a partnership, or form a limited liability company. An LLC is considered a right structure as it limits your liability and protects personal assets if any problem arises.

5. App store agreements

Once the app is ready, the next step is  distribution of mobile apps through app stores. Your app must comply with all app publishing requirements arising from the guidelines of Google and the guidelines of Apple. You must also check government regulations for apps before distributing them. The terms and policies put emphasis on personal data protection and address IP issues concerning your app. These platforms also reserve the right to modify their legal terms or add new clauses when necessary. Your app must comply with changes or else it will result in legal action or removal from the app store. 

6. Terms of Use

Terms of Use is a legal agreement that mobile app developers enter with their app’s users. The agreement is valid automatically as soon as the user downloads the app. It states about the app, how the user must use it, what constitutes improper or unlawful use of the app and consequences of improper use. A Terms of Use agreement is crucial because it limits the possibility of legal and ethical issues for mobile apps if a user misuses your product.

7.  Privacy policy

Privacy rights – specifically, the privacy rights of end-users of the app—should not be overlooked. The prime way of addressing privacy rights of the mobile app users is through a privacy policy. Your privacy policy must explain to the users how the app will store and use their data. Such policies must also clarify the rights of end-users regarding their data. They must also know how to exercise their rights for data protection. 

Here are a few steps to meet Privacy Policy requirements:

• Privacy Policy must be in place from the beginning of the mobile app development process
• It must be clear and transparent to prevent app development legal issues
• Make it available as soon as the user downloads the app
• If your Privacy Policy is provided after the installation of the app, make sure to disclose it before the app processes the user’s data
  

8. End-user License Agreement (EULA)

The major app stores require apps on their platform to have an end-user license agreement (EULA). It is a contract between the owner of the app and the users using the app. It specifies the terms under which the end-user will use the app and identifies all permissible and non-permissible uses. The EULA will also ensure that the user isn’t misusing the app in a harmful way. Your EULA must be enforceable – this means that the app user needs to agree to the EULA. The most effective way to get user consent is use of “clickwrap agreements’’.  Developers disclose them before the app is downloaded. The EULA is presented to the user, requiring them to state that they have read it and then agree to its terms by clicking on the “I Accept” button.

[Also Read: What is the Role of Technology in the Legal Sector?]

How Appinventiv ensures compliance with legal requirements for mobile app development?

At Appinventiv, we are dedicated to shield and protect the privacy of our clients and visitors. We make sure to consider all legal issues in the software development process. Here are a few steps that we take to comply with legal requirements for app development process:

• At Appinventiv, we have Privacy Policy in place for users and clients to describe how we use and process your personal data. The Privacy Policy explains what happens to any personal information that you provide to us, or that we collect from you while you visit our website.
  
• We disclose every practice regarding collecting, using, and protecting personal information in our Privacy Policy.
  
• We also encourage our clients to sign a non-disclosure agreement before discussing their app idea.
  
• We make sure to sign app development contracts with clients to prevent legal issues in mobile app development. The contract generally specifies the scope of work or services, time limits, fee arrangements, code ownership, etc. 

Wrapping up!

As you can see, it’s important for companies to determine their legal scope and address all possible legal and ethical issues for the app development process. Follow the above-mentioned legal requirements for creating an app to minimize the legal risk and protect your intellectual property rights. You can deal with legal issues in software development efficiently with a trustable mobile application development company. There are a number of  reliable mobile app development services that can minimize your liability and help your business to achieve success. 

At Appinventiv, we have helped many small-scale companies, medium-sized businesses, and enterprises to understand legal issues related to their app. If you want any assistance with app development and related legal issues, you can contact us as we are the top web development company in USA.

The post Top 8 Legal Issues to Consider to Protect your App in 2021 appeared first on Appinventiv.

What would you do?

If I would have asked this question back in the 1950s, you would have replied that you will try to send someone to bring the documents immediately and meanwhile capture the attention of everyone, or simply ask for another hearing from the judge.

However, these days, you can rectify the mistake by accessing the same document on the cloud via your mobile phone- all thanks to the unstoppable growth of use of technology in the legal sector. Or better say, the evolving legal technology market.

Legal Tech, aka, the segment of the legal industry that operates with the integration of cutting-edge technologies, has wholly transformed the way attorneys and law professionals work. It has brought forth better opportunities to digitally transform the law business and meet the expectations of tech-savvy clients. And interestingly, this has not remained confined to the top legal organizations; small legal teams and startups have also recognized the opportunity and invested into the same. [Know in detail here: Why Do Small Legal Teams Need Legal Operations Software?]

A ripple effect of this is that today – 

1.  The legal tech market constitutes 2.6% of the total legal service market share. The one that will be worth USD 1,011 Bn by next year.

2.  More than 700 legal tech startups have entered the market, though belonging to different domains, i,e, eDiscovery, Online legal services, Lawyer search, Legal research, AI legal tech software, and Practice management software.

3.  As per 2019 Global Legal Department Benchmarking Report, the adoption of technology in different legal areas has also increased by significant values.

4.  The total investment in the legal tech market recorded in 2019 was around USD 1.2 Bn, and is expected to increase considerably this year with virtual law offices and digital courtroom being the need of the hour due to global pandemic.

5.  Cloud adoption in the legal industry increases by 20% annually; indicating that lawyers are understanding the essence of replacing paper-based documents with digital ones.

Such numbers have swayed law professionals across the globe and made them interested in investing in legal firm software development, get familiar with legal tech future trends and eventually, build a business plan.

Now, while this seems a perfect roadmap to enter the legal technology market and get on the top, it is not actually so. 

To ensure that you leverage higher possibilities and benefits, it  is equally important to know what all changes has the industry experienced so far. Meaning, getting acquainted with the evolution of the legal tech market in the past few years and the set of technology used in law firms is also essential. 

So, taking the same thought into consideration, let’s take a look back at the history of the Law technology market before heading to the future trends.

An Outlook of The Transformation of Legal Industry 

What started back in the 1960s with the introduction of networked computers and the Internet with J.C.R Lickilder’s work on ARPANET, the Legal technology industry has travelled a long way towards digital transformation with the advent of advanced software solutions and other related innovations. It has introduced various automated and highly-efficient tools and platforms in different areas such as –

1.  Legal Research

Traditionally, the process of legal research was time-consuming, error-prone, and tiresome, which made it difficult for the law organizations to deal with complex issues, meet the needs of their clients, and make quick decisions. However, with the advent of legal research tools and platforms like Casemaker, FindLaw and Casetext, this can become much easier.

2.  Predictive Coding and eDiscovery

Also called technology-assisted review (TAR), Predictive coding technology is employed to determine responsive electronically stored information (ESI) documents. The AI-powered predictive coding and eDiscovery tools will continue to learn and make better decisions while saving time and money.

3.  Digital Billing

Right from calculating GST, to managing heap of data, getting customized billings, and accessing data from the cloud, digital billing solutions are helping legal organizations with various other processes within the environment.

4.  Legal Document Management

Legal document creation and management software like Clio, Smokeball and MyCase has also come forth to assist law professionals with creating, accessing, and managing all the documents and making the right business decisions.

5.  Contracts Verification and Management

These types of law and technology solutions comes loaded with AI and Blockchain and 

assists legal organizations in verifying and managing the digital contracts quickly, efficiently and error-free.

[Also Read: Why Do Small Legal Teams Need Legal Operations Software?]

Let’s have a glimpse of how much the law industry has changed so far, in the form of a timeline as shown by the image below.

With this covered, let’s take a look at the future of the legal tech domain and the advanced technology solutions to focus upon.

Technology Trends that Will Continue Ruling the Legal Tech Market

1.  Client collaboration being the centerpiece of legal economy

The foremost trend that will continue to reform the legal landscape is focus on client collaboration.

The law organizations will focus on collaborating with their targeted user base to ensure greater transparency in their ecosystem. This will later assist in wider acceptance and adoption of secure and innovative tools for managing critical legal issues.

2.  Predictive Legal Analytics will be on the rise

Switching from analytics to predictive analytics will also be one of the key trends in the legal domain. This will result in developing innovative solutions that offer higher strategic planning and other data-driven information.

Not only the new legal tech startups, but the existing ones will also plan around introducing the power of predictive analytics into their mobile apps and other solutions.

3.  Growth in Virtual assistance and Automation

Another trend that will continue to prevail in the law industry is the hike in usage of virtual assistants and automation tools.

Both small firms and solos will look ahead to using these software and platforms to manage multiple tasks efficiently and effortlessly, including intaking and scheduling of meetings.

4.  Advent of new legal solutions using AI and Blockchain

In 2020 and beyond, many more innovative solutions will enter and thrive the market with higher focus on blockchain and artificial intelligence in the legal field. 

These legal tech solutions will help the law professionals in finding better opportunities, projecting new strategies and finding effective ways to run their business in the present competitive and client-driven market.

5.  Rise in Legal tech investment, products and services

With the growing awareness of the outcomes of introducing mobile apps and technology in the legal field, there will be a rise in the number of acquisitions, mergers, and fundings. Not only the investors, but the established law organizations will also collaborate with the new startups to make a better position in the market.

This will further boost the number of legal technology consultants who will be specialized in aiding law organizations with integration of high-tech products to their existing model.

6.  Change in Hiring process

Lastly, a major disruption will be experienced in the hiring process this year and beyond. The legal tech startups and establishments will look forward to hiring now-lawyers to bring a direct difference in their business. This includes those who have an expertise in sales, C-suit administration and process management.

The lawyers will keep a focus on high-level, substantive tasks while the non-lawyers will participate in improving the environment and introducing new ways of increasing business efficiency.

So now as you know what all revolutionary changes the law industry has seen with the emergence of legal technology, and what is the probable future of the market, it is the right time to look into ways to step into the market successfully.

How to Prepare for the Legal Tech Market?

While the aforementioned information will help you to understand the present and future state of the market, there are two more essential ingredients to make a successful entry to it. So, let’s wrap up this article focusing on the two, which are as follows – 

1.  Identifying the challenges and opportunities

To get the best perks of considering legal software development, it is important to know why you need them. That implies, it is required to have a clear understanding of what challenges you are facing with the traditional business processes, what opportunities you are missing out, and how the legal technologies can be the right solutions.

Something that can be figured out by discussing your business model with your team, doing an extensive market and competitor analysis, and pondering on the vision and mission of your law organization.

2.  Hiring the Right Legal Software Development Company

Though a wide range of technology solutions providers have shown the potential to create amazing software for legal firms, not all are the best option to go with. This is because every legal project requires a different skill set and experience.

When finding an answer to how to hire legal technology solutions providers, it is must to consider their experience, team size, location, portfolio, tech stack, and other such factors. 

Have any further questions? Feel free to contact our legal firm technology consultants.

The post A Brief Overview of the Evolution of Legal Technology Sector appeared first on Appinventiv.

“Which is the best legal software development agency to connect with?”

With an uprise in the role of technology in the legal sector, such questions have become a norm. Law attorneys and other professionals are looking ahead to embrace technological innovations for mitigating the prevailing challenges and leveraging higher benefits of becoming a part of the legal tech marketplace. The one that is forecasted to be valued USD 1.01 billion by the year 2021.

They are striving to find the right legal software development company that can help them with building a better tech-based legal business. But, what they come across on searching on web engines is the list of hundreds and millions of legal technology solutions providers. This leaves them confused about which lawyer app development company to hire for meeting their objectives and getting the limelight, while avoiding getting into the claws of gusty professionals.

Assuming you to be one of those, I will be sharing here a list of factors that will help you pick the right legal technology solutions provider and outshine the competition in the market.

But before we jump to that section, it is necessary to know what pre-planning you need to do for better outcomes.

So, let’s have a look at the things to consider before choosing a legal app development company.

Pre-Planning Steps to Hire a Legal Tech Expert

1.  Know Your App Needs

To ensure that you reap higher benefits of using technology in the legal sector, it is necessary to have a clear description of your app needs. Which means it is imperative that you brainstorm on the existing challenges and determine how technology fits into the situation.

2.  Perform Market Research

The next step is to dive deeper into the legal market and see what’s the scope of the tech-based solutions, and its future. These insights will help you with refining your plan and prevent investing in an outdated software.

3.  Invest in Competitive Analysis

While market research will help you with determining what type of legal tech solution will continue to gain traction in the market, competitive analysis will aid in determining the right app features, technology stack, and business and revenue model.

4.  Decide whether to hire someone locally or internationally

Another thing to consider is taking a decision of whether to hire someone locally for your app needs or outsource the requirement. While hiring someone locally helps in maintaining face-to-face communication levels and being assured of the company, embracing the idea of investing in outsource app development needs internationally can reduce the cost, ensure exceptional services, reduce technical risks, and much more.

With this covered, let’s look into the effective way to hire a legal tech services provider and enter into this evolving market successfully.

Steps to Hire the Best Legal Technology Service Provider

1.  Search on reputed platforms and community

Rather than searching on different web engines and getting influenced by fake ads, check on the right platforms and communities.

There are various B2B research and review platforms and communities like AppFutura, Built in Chicago, and Clutch that survey and list down the names of the top legal tech consulting companies and those belonging to other industries. Visit these sites to come across the Top 10 Legal tech software developers.

2.  Filter as per your location

Another factor to focus upon while finding an answer to how to select a vendor for legal tech solutions is location. While it simply means entering your city name in case of searching locally, it refers to determining which region offers the best and cost-effective services across the globe.

3.  Check for skills and expertise

Building a legal-based software application and introducing the cutting-edge technologies is not a simple task. There are various hidden challenges in developing legal tech solutions. So, it is advised to filter out the options as per the skill set and experience of building legal technology solutions.

4.  Explore their portfolio

Most of the lawyers get confused when companies claim to have an expertise in building legal tech solutions. They, with no prior knowledge or experience in the tech industry, could not determine how to test their skills and experience. This is where portfolio helps.

A portfolio showcases their skills both in designing and development process, their ideology behind, the type of solutions they have crafted, the outcomes received, and more. Something that has helped you visualize the kind of solutions you will get, on hiring.

5.  Talk to their existing clients

While a portfolio gives you the opportunity to know about their expertise, it can’t help in finding the attitude with which these legal tech vendors work. This is where their existing clients can come to the rescue.

Before finalizing any business technology solutions provider for law firm app needs, check their client testimonials on different platforms. Also, if possible, ask the companies to connect you with one or more clients of theirs, and ask all the non-technical questions from them to make the right decision from a business perspective.

6.  Focus on legal compliances

Since legal-based information and processes are highly-sensitive and are required to be fully secured, various legal regulations like i-9 compliance have been introduced in the market. In such a scenario, ensuring these compliances are introduced into your app project is also as important as discussing how to choose the right legal technology for your organisation app. So, look ahead to pick such legal technology consultants who have an in-depth understanding of the legal compliances.

7. Get a law firm mobile app development cost estimate

The cost to develop a legal tech solution can be anything between USD 10,000 and 1,00,000 depending on the factors focused. In such a scenario, it is advisable to ask for a quote from your prospective law firm software development agency rather than getting swayed by the numbers shared by anyone.

8.  Emphasis on communication

With time, the set of technology used in law firm business models is increasing. In a situation like this, handing over your project to someone and not connecting for months can hinder your path to success. Whereas, maintaining real-time communication can help with improving your legal business strategies and gain better ROI.

So, maintaining a proper communication level is also one of the factors that businesses must follow in picking the right technology service provider for a law firm.

9.  Sign an NDA 

Last but not least, rely upon NDA to finalize the best legal tech solutions provider. This document comprises the complete description of the legal software, the promises made between the two partners, and the charges one has to pay on sharing this secret information with any third party.

Conclusion

Picking the right legal tech service provider is undeniably an important decision when it comes to streamlining your organizational processes and generating revenues. So, do not jump upon the very first option you come across. Do extensive research and screen out the one that can help you take your business to newer heights with limited efforts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q.  How to select a legal tech service provider?

Choosing the right legal technology vendors is not an easy task. However, by focusing on the factors shared above, you can reduce the efforts and connect with the best developer at the earliest.

Q.  How to choose the right legal technology for your law firm?

The answer to this question depends on various factors like your app features, targeted location, budget, development team expertise, etc.

Q.  When is the right time for a law firm to invest in legal tech?

Knowing where the future of legal tech is heading towards, it is not wrong to say that one should invest in legal tech solutions. However, one should look into this direction significantly only when their team is small or working remotely, the operational expenses are high,etc.

The post How to Find a Legal Tech Service Provider for Business Needs? appeared first on Appinventiv.

But, with time, the role of lawyers has shifted from solely being legal advisors to emerging business leaders. They are now paying attention to competencies like financial management, cross-functional alignment, data analytics, communication, and strategic planning to fit into the modern business model.

Now, here comes the challenge.

To meet this demand, they require a legal operations manager. While this seems an easy decision for big corporations, it makes small teams struggle to a great extent due to the higher cost associated with hiring a legal operations manager. 

This is where legal operations software comes to the rescue. 

The legal operations management platform, in the form of different characteristics and benefits, enable small teams to satisfy the market needs and relish the perk of using technology in the legal domain. And ultimately, become a part of the market anticipated to grow from USD 1.075Bn to USD 3.565Bn with a CAGR of 14.2% between 2018-2027.

What is a Legal operations software?

A Legal operations software is basically a digital platform that simplifies how these teams simplify their processes, take data-driven decisions, and make their legal department act like a business unit.

Now as you know what the term means, let’s focus upon reasons a small team should ask a legal software development company to build a customized software for managing their legal operations.

[NOTE: As already hinted earlier, this blog is written for small legal teams, and not for big and established corporates. So, in case you are a corporate looking ahead to invest in legal operations software development, consult with our legal app development experts.]

Benefits of legal operations software to small teams

1.   Higher efficiency & productivity

When talking about legal processes, the team often has to perform tasks like managing outside counselling. This is a time consuming task and requires having one or more team members working dedicatedly.

Now, while medium and large teams can easily dedicate a resource particularly for this process, small teams can’t afford. This is because they already have limited people on board to perform different tasks. If they shift an individual to this process only, they might not be able to complete other tasks on time. Or, in the other scenario, deliver low-quality services.

Here, a legal operations platform can help small firms in streamlining the management of all invoicing and other related processes in the form of eBilling and matter management tools. Something that can improve time efficiency as well as an individual’s productivity.

In fact, it has been found that an increase in efficiency by 6% with the help of some workflow automation solution in the legal processes can add up to around $100,000 in staff time even in a team of 10 professionals.

2.  Increased reliability & support

Another reason why small teams need modern legal operations software is that it can boost reliability and support.

The legal software for handling operations plays a pivotal role in enabling legal professionals to share all the information associated with invoices and other processes with others in real-time. This makes it easier for them to rely upon each other for any particular information and support effectively, even when not working under the same roof.

3.  Enhanced business strategies & planning

With the use of legal operations systems for billing and other processes, one can maintain transparency within the team. This can help in keeping everyone updated with varied aspects of the business and get a clearer understanding of what would be the probable future of business and what challenges are (or will) hinder their path to success. This further helps them with planning business strategies that drives better results.

4.  Better spend control

Another benefit of considering software for legal operations is better spend control.

When operating manually, we often end up spending more or twice as much effort and capital required to perform a single operation. Also, we find it hard to determine what process is delivering fruitful outcomes in the near and distant future.

Legal operations solutions, designed by a recognized lawyer app development company, offers access to heap of data and reporting & analytics possibilities, makes it easier for one to have a real-time record of all the spending and assess the associated benefits. And this way, manage the spendings to get better profits.

It has been found that introducing a legal software into traditional processes for handling operations can reduce outside legal spending by over $250,000 yearly.

5.  Lower cost

What’s more, it has been found that the price charged by any legal app development company for developing legal operations software is comparably lower than that of hiring a manager or using other available alternatives in the long run.

6.  Quick ROI

Another reason why small teams must consider legal operations software is that they can analyze and predict the future opportunities and grab them in an efficient yet small way. Also, they can mitigate the existing market challenges and focus on coming up with new ideas for brand marketing, which can increase conversions and ultimately, ROI.

“Now as you know the set of reasons small teams should go for legal operations solutions, you must be wondering, “What to do next?” 

So, let’s end this article while covering steps to consider for embracing a legal operations platform into your processes.

Steps to embrace legal operations software in your small business

1.  Get an in-depth understanding of capability of Legal operations software

Though the aforementioned benefits might have given you a hint why your small legal team needs a legal operation software, there’s more to it. A Legal operation software performs numerous tasks and serves you with better and profitable opportunities in an enhanced way. 

So, the first step towards entering the legal operations app market and building a better future is to get a comprehensive knowledge of the working and characteristics of this legaltech solution.

2.  Bring your team on board to discuss challenges and opportunities

Once you get a clear understanding, the next step is to sit with your small team and look into what challenges they are facing right now. What opportunities they feel are getting missed out in the current scenario, and how a legal operation software can help in the same.

This will empower you to address challenges and difficulties not yet discussed and make a required decision, rather than getting swayed with the idea of introducing a legal tech software into your working area.

3.  Hire an expert legal software development agency

The next yet most prominent step to take is to hire the right legal tech service provider.

That implies, finding and connecting with a law firm software development agency that understands and helps in enhancing your plan, is familiar with the hidden challenges, and assists your small legal team achieve more of the benefits of legal operations software with minimal effort.

The post Why Do Small Legal Teams Need Legal Operations Software? appeared first on Appinventiv.

But, what made this possible? 

What are the key drivers of disruption in the legal sector?

While there are various factors behind the unprecedented shift in the legal market, the one that has made great strides in the last few years is legal technology. The one we will discuss in detail in this article.

But, before we dig deeper into the industry and get a comprehensive knowledge of the role of technology in law sector, let’s look into what exactly this term means.

What is Legal Tech?

Legal technology (usually called Legal tech) refers to technologies and software that substantially changes the way we use legal services in our daily lives. In broader terms, it represents the set of technologies that –

• Eases the practice of law for attorneys and legal professionals, and
• Enables customers access legal competence or justice.

With the terminology clearly defined, let’s take a closer look at the set of advantages of technology in law industry.

Role of Technology in Legal Sector

Technology has been playing a vital role in the legal industry. It has increased the efficiency of legal offices and productivity of clerical workers. With the advent of legal tech, there is greater transparency between legal firms and clients. Clients know how much fees they have to pay and can keep track of day-to-day progress of the lawyer on their case. Also, there is no doubt that technology, if used correctly, is fast and efficient – more than any human individual. This can prove to be of great assistance to any law firm. 

Here are a few pointers that show how technology is revolutionizing the legal sector: 

1.  Automated processes

Traditionally, all the in-house legal tasks are performed manually. While lawyers focus heavily on interacting with non-lawyers and other business professionals, they also have to invest some time in operating the associated tasks. Of which, 63% are found to be fact-based and repeatable. 

Now, legal software like word processors and eDiscovery software, in this case, takes over the tasks and perform automatically. This not solely enhances the pace of operations, but also gives attorneys enough time to focus on other productive tasks.

2.  Ease of research

Though legal professionals have become accustomed to the Internet and other such resources for their research method, they are still clung to the print products. They take a printout of everything including the revised laws and regulations and refer to them while working on each case. This adds to the time required for research work.

Legal research solutions, in this case, helps lawyers remain updated with each and every change in the regulations even when not at their desk. Besides, these platforms avail a vast range of tools and functionalities like ‘search’ that might not be available with print products.

3.  Better resource management

Earlier, junior attorneys were recruited to perform odd jobs like gathering, storing, managing, and processing titles, or informing lawyers about their daily schedule. This not only makes them disinterested in the process, but also makes senior attorneys wonder how to use their potential in a better way. Something that legal tech solutions help with.

The legal title management and calendaring applications perform all the tasks associated with titles along with giving them quick insights of what all tasks they have to do on that particular day. This gives senior attorneys an opportunity to use the resources (here, junior attorneys) in a better and effective way. Consequently, resulting in better outcomes.

4.  Decline in risk of errors

Another importance of technology in law sector is that it cuts down the risk of errors that might be possible because of overlooking or misinterpretation of any fact and figure, ultimately bringing a drastic change in the judgment.

Here, the technological solutions eases the access to all the details. Also, it adds the facility to use the raw power of analytics in the processing, making it easier for legal practitioners to look at any fact/evidence from different angles and utilize it in a better and effective manner.

5.  Increased transparency

Even today, many lawyers showcase the issues faced by clients in a complicated way to earn more profits. They do not disclose that the problem they are facing is as simple as using a DSLR. Besides, the law practices are also confined to offline sources. This makes clients doubt every lawyer they connect with.

However, this situation can be improved with the help of the finest legal practice management solutions and other such offers. These tech solutions can create a marketplace where clients can come across the profiles of the best legal professionals in the industry. They can chat with different attorneys and remain in touch in real-time, along with getting acquainted with the basic law requirements. This can further help them partner with the right professionals and enjoy higher perks, in addition to trustability and transparency in the process.

6.  Introduction of new legal products/services

Another impact of technology on legal profession is that it bridges the gap between lawyers and others. This gives lawyers a clear understanding of what issues are clients facing in common these days and comes up with relevant solutions. 

7.  Higher convenience

Legal-based mobile apps and software adds convenience to the processes in the law industry. On one side, these tech solutions help common users connect with the top law professionals even without stepping out of their home. While, on the other side, these software can provide lawyers an opportunity to maintain communication with other attorneys and clients, update them in real-time, perform research work efficiently, and more.

This, as a result, makes the complete legal ecosystem highly convenient for all.

8.  Enhanced customer experience

Gone are those days when offering the finest legal services was all required to gain limelight in the industry. Today, it has become equally important to keep your clients satisfied and happy. 

In this case, AI can enhance your customer experience strategy by delivering customized services. It can gather heaps of consumer data in real-time and help you to know your clients better. It can also send personalized emails and other messages to keep them engaged all the time.

9. More collaboration among lawyers:

One of the advantages of technology in law is that lawyers can now work together on important matters with productive tools like Slack, Google Docs, Microsoft Teams, etc. They no longer have to sit next to each other in order to draft a petition or discuss the important aspects of a case. Legal tech is enabling a culture of remote law firms. Lawyers and law firms can now serve more clients irrespective of geographical location. 

10. Faster processing of information:

The use of technology in legal profession, if used correctly, is fast and efficient.. This can prove to be of great assistance to any law firm. Using technology, a high level of analysis can be done in a matter of minutes. Complex calculations and error solving can be now done in a few seconds. This would previously take a large amount of time and was also quite a tedious clerical task that interested no one. However, as of now, legal technology can help in managing a high turnover of cases.

Now, while these are the benefits of legal technology, it is advisable for you to take a glimpse of the future prospect before taking a decision. So, taking the same thought forward, let’s take a look at how the future of the legal technology market will appear.

An Outlook of Future of Legal Tech Market

As you can depict from the infographics shared above, the legal tech market is evolving slowly and gradually. Both law practitioners and associated people in the industry are showing signs of embracing the idea of introducing technology in the legal sector. Meaning, it is a profitable decision to connect with reputed legal software and app development service providers.

However, before you look ahead to exploring and embracing the legal technology trends, it is recommended to be familiar with the challenges you might encounter during or after the process. So, with the intent to aid you in taking better precautions and building a profitable business, let’s wrap up this article focusing on what challenges are related to legal technology developments.

Challenges Hindering The Path to Legal Disruption (& How to Mitigate Them?)

1.   Lack of understanding

The foremost challenge the legal tech market is facing is that even today, many legal professionals do not have an in-depth understanding of what technologies to use and when so as to derive better and effective outcomes. Also, they are living with the fear that the growing relationship between law and emerging technology will result in a higher rate of unemployment in the industry.

In fact, it has been found that 36% of lawyers are unaware of the set of technology used in law firms for better purposes.

2.  Organizational issues

The emergence of technology in the legal sector has brought a 180-degree transformation in its business model. It has completely changed the way they attract new clients, process, and earn money. Because of this, various law firms are also facing several organizational challenges like acceptance of technology and software for daily tasks, ease of determining the scope of varied types of legal technology, practice as per the yet not proven business model, and more.

In actual fact, over 34% of organizations do not look ahead to enter the LegalTech market because of organizational problems.

3.  Financial barriers

Last but not least, the expenses associated with considering technology in the future of law such as legal software development cost is also impeding attorneys from getting inclined to this idea.

In fact, it has been found that 30% of the organizations are overlooking the impact of technology on law industry because of financial issues.

[Also Read: A Brief Overview of the Evolution of Legal Technology Sector]

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How is technology changing the legal profession?

When talking about the impact of technology on law and legal profession, it is offering a wide range of advantages like:-

• Soaring global outlook,
• Higher transparency,
• Effective use of resources,
• Faster gathering and processing of information, and
• Decline in errors and other hidden issues.

Q. Why is legal technology important?

Legal technology solutions, designed by reputed legal app development companies, are providing lawyers and other legal professionals with ample benefits, such as – 

• Streamlined communication,
• Automated eDiscovery process,
• Simplified case management procedure,
• Ease of access to analytics, and
• Exposure to online legal communities.

Q. What technology do law firms use?

Some of the technologies that law firms relies upon are as follows:-

• Inhouse documentation software,
• Cloud-based technology,
• Artificial intelligence,
• Internet of Things (IoT),
• Word processors and eDiscovery solutions,
• Time tracking and billing technology solutions,
• Blockchain based smart contracts and payment solutions,
• Augmented and Virtual Reality, etc.

Ending Note

The adoption of technology in legal sector and agencies can go a long way in improving their efficiency and also helps in attracting a lot more clients. It creates flexible legal services, increases transparency, and reduces the chance of errors in documentation.

In case you are looking to develop an app for your legal services, you can contact a reputed mobile app development company in USA. They will help you with the entire process and provide top-notch mobile app development services.

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