Peer to Peer Magazine

PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGA ZINE OF ILTA 48 FEATURES COMMUNICATIONS, COLLABORATION AND NETWORKING TOOLS AND DEVELOPMENTS There is a need for deeper and wider IT- enabled collaboration, particularly with clients and between devices. This is seen as having potential to enhance delivery at multiple levels — encompassing client interaction, presentation of information, workflow transparency, time and budget reporting, process integration, data exchange and even developing shared systems and infrastructure. In the short term, adoption of secure Near Field Communications (NFC) technology will enable users to share information from device to device and collaborate more easily. Effective integration with client and court systems will allow lawyers to become productive far more rapidly as they will not have to wait on key data and documents to be shared. Internally, major benefits are anticipated if effective collaboration can be facilitated across practice areas and departments in a law firm. SOFTWARE TOOLS, TECHNIQUES AND TRENDS Significant progress is already seen or expected in software development approaches and the underlying coding tools and languages. A key focus of software usage in the legal environment will be the adoption and development of applications and tools that encourage more efficient flow in one form or another. This will encompass streamlining the flow of key work products, effective routing of communications or navigating users through key tasks using gamification techniques. From an R&D perspective, those pioneering the future of software development are focusing on challenges such as improving developer productivity, processing complex and parallel events, enabling collaborative development and the pursuit of verifiably error-free code. COMPUTING TECHNOLOGY AND DEVICES Underlying computing technologies have been out of the limelight in recent times as the focus has shifted toward consumer applications and devices. However, ongoing research efforts are likely to lead to even more science and technology breakthroughs. The decade ahead promises significant developments in the underlying technology that will enable faster, more complex processing and potentially radically different computing approaches. Current R&D efforts offer the potential for major advances in processor design, new device architectures, alternative computing and storage materials and new approaches to data communication and computation using scientific advances in areas such as optical information processing and quantum theory. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) AND INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS The legal sector has always been heralded as one of the most promising potential targets for the deployment of AI and intelligent systems. Developments in this domain, along with those in brain science, are likely to cause the greatest disruption. A variety of applications of so-called "weak AI" or expert systems are already emerging in areas such as predictive coding and e-discovery. Indeed, many of the start-ups in the sector are pioneering the adoption of a range of AI techniques to complete a variety of tasks. 4 5 6 7 LEGAL TECHNOLOGY FUTURE HORIZONS LEADER'S DIGEST view the leader's digest and learn more about the study at iltanet.org/ltfh

• Cover