Legal Process Outsourcing

The impact of technology on legal research

When considering the legal profession, the first thing that comes to mind is its traditional and conservative nature in terms of business models and operational methods. However, even the legal realm is not immune to technological advancements and innovations. As technology advances, there is increasing pressure on the legal industry to digitise its processes in order to remain efficient, accessible, and competitive. A recent report states that 77% of legal professionals believe there’s an increasing importance of legal technology. And as legal departments invest in technology, 84% claim it will improve productivity. Here is where our focus shifts to legal research.

One of the most tedious and time-consuming facets of traditional legal practice is legal research, which technology is helping evolve. From online databases making information easily accessible to artificial intelligence tools simplifying legal research tasks, legal research solutions are helping reduce chunks of legal work, making it easier for legal professionals to focus more on strategic tasks for their clients. Even law schools are adopting these changes to help students learn more efficiently and facilitate their transition from the academic to the professional legal world.

Legal technology to increase efficiency

Despite the apparent reluctance of legal professionals to embrace technology, legal scholars have contemplated the automation of legal processes since the 1960s. As modern AI solutions make automation a reality, scholars speculate that although AI cannot replace legal professionals, lawyers who do not use technology to complement their day-to-day tasks are vulnerable in a competitive market. The legal technology solutions available today can automate up to 23% of a modern lawyer's day-to-day workload, which can account for saving anywhere between 20% to 90% of the time necessary to do tasks like research, case analysis, or document review. This is the potential of legal technology to optimise workflows, increase efficiency, and save both cost and time for legal professionals and law firms.

Legal technology for legal research solutions

One of the areas of legal processes that legal technology has had the most impact on – in terms of execution, speed, and accuracy – is legal research. Some of the ways legal research and technology associate with making a positive impact on overall legal practices include:

Digital databases:

With the world moving towards digital channels, one of the first things to change was the digitisation of paper records and resources. For legal professionals, this means digitising law books, legislation, and case laws. This has made legal resources easily accessible to people, legal professionals, and students alike, with handy tools to easily search for the resources they need.

Artificial intelligence for legal research:

Artificial intelligence tools have made it easier for legal professionals to search through extensive databases to find the legal principles, laws, and legal precedents relevant to their cases. The next-gen tools can understand the legal terminology to sift through mountains of legal documents, analyse their relevance to the issue, and link the relevant information to corresponding sources. The unparalleled speed and efficiency these tools achieve allow legal professionals to access resources without any limitations.

Better research on expert witnesses:

Expert witnesses are integral aspects of a case, and their credibility, expertise, or even history can potentially alter the case outcomes. Often, researching and conducting a background check on an expert witness is complex, tedious, and time-consuming; and missing even one detail can severely hamper the case. AI-powered tools can come in handy when researching your witness, giving legal professionals access to expert’s professional credentials, legal involvements, and media presence along with real-time updates for up-to-date information.

Technology has impacted the realm of law and the way legal professionals conduct legal research. Modern legal research solutions have made a host of previously inaccessible resources available to legal professionals, allowing them to be more efficient and thorough in their research. And as technology keeps evolving – though it cannot replace them – legal professionals must be proactive in embracing legal research technology solutions to be future-ready and grasp the emerging opportunities in the evolving legal landscape.

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How can Infosys BPM help?

Infosys BPM Legal Research Services offers customisable and cost-efficient legal research solutions that serve as an extension of your legal department. You can leverage these automated legal research technology solutions to efficiently link relevant research content to the corresponding sources and facilitate flexibility in product delivery formats – including word, spreadsheet, or online solutions – for all your legal research needs.