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The legal profession is rapidly evolving, and legal technology or lawtech is a major driver of this change. To inform your digital transformation roadmap and legal tech initiatives, here are some of the key stats to bear in mind: 

AI and automation in law firms and in-house legal teams

1. 10% of firms are currently using interactive websites to generate legal documents - SRA

2. 20% of firms are planning to use interactive websites to generate legal documents - SRA

3. 6% of firms are currently using chatbots or virtual assistants - SRA

4. 14% of firms are planning to use chatbots or virtual assistants - SRA

5. 88% of the top 100 firms have invested in e-signatures -

6. 84% or the top 100 firms have invested in Document Management Systems -

7. 81% of the top 100 firms have invested in Virtual Data Rooms -

8. 11% of the top 100 firms have invested in Expertise Automation -

9. 28% of the top 100 firms have invested in Robotic Process Automation -

10. 28% of the top 100 firms have invested in Contract Lifecycle Management -

11. 50% of law firms in England and Wales use AI lawtech -

Digital marketing for law firms and in-house legal teams

12. 65% of firms have planned or already implemented website development to attract clients - ������Ƶ Bellwether 2021

13. 59% of firms planned or already developed a social media strategy to attract clients - ������Ƶ Bellwether 2021

14. 26% of firms plan to hire, or have already hired, more staff to focus on digital marketing or business development - ������Ƶ Bellwether 2021

Law practice management and client services 

15. 87% of law firms use video conferencing for meeting clients -

16. 72% of firms use tech to improve service quality -

17. 15% of firms are currently using online portals for matter status updates -

18. 21% of firms are planning to use online portals for matter status updates -

19. 71% of firms use tech to improve efficiency -

20. 67% of firms introducing new services also introduced new technology -

21. Over half of firms say their use of technology has increased since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic -

22. 66% of law firms store data in the cloud -

23. Over 50% of firms use practice management or legal research software -

24. 37% of firms use legal tech -

25. 24% of firms plan to use legal tech -

26. The top 10 firms spend an average of 0.5% of fee income on legal tech -  

27. Investment in lawtech is estimated to reach up to £2.2bn per year by 2026 -

Legal recruitment, skills and training

28. 44% of firms use tech to allow staff to work more flexibly -

29. 1 - 2% of advertised legal sector jobs for regulated lawyer jobs required lawtech skills between 2014 and 2020 -

30. 15% of advertised legal sector jobs for non-regulated jobs required lawtech skills between 2014 and 2020 -

31. Solicitors who were required to have lawtech skills were paid on average 13% more than those without lawtech skills -

32. Paralegals who were required to have lawtech skills were paid on average 25% more than those without lawtech skills -

33. 56% of solicitors agree with the statement: “lawyers need to become familiar with multiple non-legal specialisms, such as data science, project management, and design thinking” -

34. 3% of solicitors have received training in software coding in the past three years -

35. Data analytics is the biggest solicitors’ innovation-related skills training priority over the next three years -

Legal practice areas

36. 71% of firms working in conveyancing use technology to help them deliver services -

37.  54% of firms working in employment use technology to help them deliver services -

38.  53% of firms working in employment use technology to help them deliver services -

39.  71% of firms working with large corporate clients use technology to help them deliver services -

40. Regulatory compliance has been the fastest growing segment of lawtech, at 214% over the past three years -

Challenges, risks and barriers in law

41. 44% of firms who use legal tech say that regulatory uncertainty or barriers affect their adoption of technology -

42. 36% of firms are uncertain of the business benefits of legal tech -

43. 31% of firms do not see legal tech it as a strategic priority -

44. 27% of firms do not see the need for using technology or innovation within their business -

45. 90% of the top 100 firms are extremely or somewhat concerned about cyber risk - 

46. 15 - 31% of the top 100 firms do not know if a cyberattack has taken place - 

47. 76% of the top 100 firms suffered a cybersecurity incident in 2021 as a result of unintentional actions taken by staff -

48. 80% of the top 100 firms have a dedicated cyber security resource -

49. 46% of lawyers think it is risky to use the open web (eg Google) to search for legal answers. But despite this, Google is the most-used source for research and guidance information amongst lawyers - ������Ƶ Bellwether 2021

50. 5% of lawyers completely trust the accuracy of free legal information found on the internet - ������Ƶ Bellwether 2021

For more information on law firms and new technology, visit our practice notes.