The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/67910
ask the expert Peter: Whenever we build a new app, buy a new system or implement a new system, we'll need to consider whether it can operate on a tablet. Users will continue to download the apps they want to use on a day-to-day basis, but we have recognized that lawyers are used to having one simple way of doing things in an environment that's carefully put together. So whenever a law firm changes, for example, their version of Word, a lot of effort goes on in the background to make it almost identical or easily changeable for users. As users download their own apps and create their own ecosystems, their environment isn't going to stay the same and the way one lawyer works will be different from the next. That's going to be hard to support. Law firms need to adjust to this, but so do application providers. I can imagine they are scrambling to build an equivalent of our carefully planned environments that can be delivered on tablets. By 2020, we'll definitely use tablets more, the way we build programs will be different and users will have changed the way they work. Users will learn more about how to set some things up themselves, and they'll bear with the fact that things aren't always perfect in an app environment. This will be both a cultural and technological change. _________________________________________________________ What other issues or concepts should people be focusing on as we head closer to the year 2020? Peter: The two general areas I think about are globalization and the maturation of the legal profession. The days of law firms making huge profits are numbered because of the different services and business models entering the market — this will challenge firms to become more savvy and competitive. A couple tools and methodologies that will help law firms continue to survive and thrive will be legal project management and business process engineering/legal process outsourcing. These are sound business practices that other sectors have already adopted, and law firms have been able to avoid them for quite a while. As the legal profession matures, these will be at the forefront of how firms change themselves into more efficient entities. Dick: Security, security, security. The protection of client data is under attack. We've always taken a strong approach to security, but we'll need to spend more time, effort and money protecting client data. When we're looking at new technologies, we're going to be asking much harder security questions before we sign on the dotted line. That will be a big part of our short-term and long-term future. Gareth: I think we'll see an increased focus on the more-for- less expectations of clients. People want efficiency. We'll try to understand what the client really wants and deliver on that, whether we use project management for deals or come up with tools and systems that will help deliver a more consistent and repeatable service for the client. We will need to be able to demonstrate and prove to clients that we have advanced technologies and processes that deliver services in a different way from our competitors. We're in an information business, and therefore we need much more advanced ways of collecting, storing, analyzing and then delivering back information, and I think these are areas and technologies that we still haven't really cracked within the legal profession. We have a lot of work ahead of us as we approach 2020. Writers Wanted iltanet.org/write 114 Peer to Peer One of ILTA's most valued resources is our pool of volunteer authors. We are grateful to them for sharing the information and experience they've acquired.