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Embracing legal technology is a key part of digital transformation for the legal sector. Law firms have been forced to adopt software tools which improve efficiency and reduce costs, in the face of steep competition from their increasingly tech-savvy peers and technology-centric alternative legal service providers (ALSPs). So it’s no surprise that in-house legal teams are also implementing legal technology to stay ahead of the game.

Cecilia Cola, Paralegal for Chevron, was tasked with taking an active role as a “technology champion” for the legal team of this multinational business, as the start of her “technology journey”. Initially Cecilia gained more knowledge and skills pertaining to tech products which she already used, such as Sharepoint. This led her to become the main point of contact for other members of her team who needed help with using various software applications.

Cecilia says that, not only does legal technology enhance productivity and efficiency of lawyers themselves, but it also improves the ability of in-house teams to help the business find the right solutions to meet its needs. Lawyers of the future will all need to have at least a basic understanding of the pertinent software tools available in order to promote the interests of their business and clients.

The benefits of embracing legal technology

According to a recent ������Ƶ report, four fifths of in-house legal teams intend to increase adoption of technology over the next 5 years. Some of the benefits of embracing tech include:

• Better insights into various sets of data collected by the legal team and the wider business.
  
• Ability to automate certain basic routine tasks, freeing up the time of general counsel to assist with more pressing and strategic matters.
• Improved ability to communicate and collaborate, whether inside the office or remotely - particularly important for enabling agile working.

But over half of in-house teams think they are being held back from digital transformation due to a lack of understanding over choosing the most appropriate technology, while around 60% say there’s simply a lack of time to devote to legal operations.

The rise of the tech-savvy lawyer

According to both the ������Ƶ report and Cecilia, all in-house legal counsel are now expected to be tech-savvy (or tech-enabled) to some degree. Being able to use basic tech tools such as Microsoft Teams, Outlook and Word are a given, but it’s important to continue one’s individual technology journey, to meet developing expectations of tech capability.

Two-thirds of in-house teams are expecting to grow according to the ������Ƶ report - and the Law Society annual report indicates that the in-house legal community is growing faster year-on-year compared to private practice.

The growing importance of in-house teams, and the rising expectations of senior management for effective use of technology by their legal department, means that it’s more crucial than ever for in-house lawyers to be comfortable with the latest software and systems.

To find out more about the heightened importance of technology within in-house legal teams read our Tech-Enabled Lawyer report.

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