The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/11430
Riding Herd in the Wild West Dateline June 15, 2020: The last technology decade has been a Wild West of development — unruly, messy, frightening, but also brilliant and breathtaking. There was fearless exploration — the explosion of PDAs, the onslaught of social networking and the rise of Google — at times lawless, but always incredibly exciting. That Wild West feel has also been felt in the arena of legal software development over the past 10 years. With the rapid evolution of technology, law firms struggled to lasso the new developments while balancing fiduciary responsibilities and network stability. Firms threw millions of dollars at failover systems and loss prevention plans, implemented to address exposure concerns raised as a result of 9/11, rampant virus attacks and/or anticipated catastrophic events. The reality of employees selling client information to the highest bidder brought about Orwellian measures to physically control law firm environments. Big Brother security systems were installed in as many nooks and crannies of an office suite as possible. Unfortunately, the most stable network and the best security system in Dodge doesn’t guarantee that risk has been averted and the town is safe. On the contrary, risk has many incarnations. Risk exposures can be as grand as a shootout (failover plan) or as mundane as losing a pocket watch (an automated calendar and docketing system). If you don’t have a pocket watch, you could miss the stage coach and lose your only chance to find gold in “them thar hills.” that will leverage the workflow of their firms to increase efficiencies, allowing them to do more with less. Does this mean that 10 years from now, errors and legal malpractice claims will be non-existent? Absolutely not. If anything, technological projections indicate that errors and malpractice will rise unless prophylactic measures are taken today. While major oil companies have plans in place for the next 50 years, very few lawyers look beyond the next five. In fact, when honest lawyers are really pushed, most confess to being clueless about how their profession is likely to unfold in the long run. Richard Susskind “The End of Lawyers” Despite Susskind’s dim “One thing is clear: legal work will expand beyond a firm’s walls whether it’s through regional offices, legal work on demand or online law firms.” Lawyers who do not use at least the minimum amount of technology may be committing malpractice per se . . . If you don’t use technology effectively for research, file management and the like, you may be perceived as willfully less competent than your competitors. And that’s malpractice. Edward Poll “Risky Business — Some Thoughts on Legal Malpractice Insurance” New Frontier Dateline June 15, 2010: So what is the legal industry going to look like in 2020? Today, law firms are feeling the effects of a tightening economy and are controlling costs wherever and whenever they can. They are looking at process improvements 80 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer 50-year view, transformational forces of legal business processes for the individual consumer and for multinational law firms are already on the horizon. This metamorphosis will have a profound effect on the level of risk and how risk is managed for decades to come. Rather than risk decreasing by 2020, risk will rise because accelerated advances in technology will increase productivity, which will change the business workflow dynamics while promoting the client’s demand for better cost control. With our 2020 binoculars on, here are some visions of the future: • The Rise of the Global Walmart-Style Law Firm This is actually not a prediction but a current reality. Firms across the United States are merging with (or gobbling up) other firms in this country and beyond at record pace. They are becoming the megastores for their multinational clients. This presents a host of problems and engenders another set of predictions. In order to keep costs down, larger firms will either outsource to third-party legal vendors or will open offices in regions with lower overhead (including attorney rates). These third-party vendors will take over rudimentary legal tasks for the client, such as drafting preliminary agreements or briefs. • The Boom of Online Legal Business We are already seeing the rise of the self-sufficient client in the plethora of online legal websites. Whether paid, free or governmental, these sites mean one thing: legal information is consumable by the general public. Couple this with the