What Is Legal Tech and Why It's Important

The Term "Legal Tech" Delineates a Subset of Relevant Technologies Lawyers Need to Understand

Legal Tech is a broad term that describes technology that lawyers and law firms should be familiar with for a variety of important reasons.  

Some legal technologies are designed to help law firms to acquire more clients.  Some of these technologies help law firms better serve current clients by helping the firm operate and provide legal services more efficiently.  Legal Tech also includes certain technological advancements, like Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence, that are being identified as technologies that many experts predict will disrupt the legal profession in an unprecedented way.  

The rise of profession-specific technological development, like Legal Tech, Fin Tech, Insur Tech, etc., represents an industry-wide trend in technological development. 

Today, many technological advancements are being narrowly tailored to suit the needs of a specific profession.  Innovators are attempting to adapt relevant technological developments to address a unique need within a particular profession. 

As innovators continue to steer technological innovation towards solving problems in specific professions, the potential value of the technology to the profession dramatically increases.  In turn, the potential impact these technologies will have on the profession also increases.

A robust "legal technology definition" includes more than technologies that are narrowly tailored to assist the legal profession. The definition of Legal Tech also includes technologies that are developing in such a way that they will fundamentally change the day-to-day lives of everyone who uses them. 

Two examples of these technologies are Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence.

These technologies have the potential to drastically impact the lives of the professionals and clients attorneys help on a daily basis.  In some circumstances, a basic understanding of these technologies will be necessary to include in a lawyer's analysis when advising a client.

Whether lawyers like it or not, advances in technology will continue to have an impact on the practice of law.  Lawyers must be aware of the impact legal tech has had and will continue to have on the profession.  

Whether the technology is a development narrowly tailored to aid attorneys in practicing law, or a technology that changes how an attorney should advise a client, Legal Tech is now part of the paradigm of practicing law for all attorneys.

Lawyers Should Keep Abreast of Legal Tech to Competently Practice Law

As technological developments relevant to the legal profession continue to increase, it is important that lawyers understand Legal Tech and keep abreast of Legal Tech developments to competently represent their clients.  

The importance of lawyers staying abreast of technologies relevant to the practice of law has been recognized by professional conduct boards in the majority of states, and is undeniably important as a practical matter, in addition to this professional requirement.

The majority of states have adopted a requirement that lawyers practicing in those states must keep abreast of the benefits and risk presented by relevant technology.  In Illinois, this requirement is contained in Comment 8 to Rule of Professional Conduct 1.1, and states:

To maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology, engage in continuing study and education to comply with all continuing legal education requirements to which the lawyer is subject. IRPC Rule 1.1, Comment 8 (2017).

This requirement has been interpreted to impose an ongoing obligation on lawyers to understand the risk and benefits of technologies that the lawyer currently uses.  In addition, the lawyer must monitor ongoing technological developments and keep abreast of new technologies that might better serve or otherwise impact the lawyer’s clients.

In addition to the ethical requirement that lawyers keep abreast of relevant technology, lawyers should strive to maintain a reasonably competent understanding of technology as a practical matter.  As younger people enter the professional and non-professional workplace, they bring with them the expectation that professionals have a reasonably competent understanding of relevant technology.  

Young people have grown up in a time of rapid technological development.  As a result, the generation of people now entering the workforce are accustomed to quickly understanding and adopting cutting-edge technologies, and have the expectation that the professionals they hire and work with have the same capacity.  

Future clients and colleagues have the expectations that the lawyers they work with will have a reasonably competent understanding of the current state of technology and its uses.

Lawyers can no longer afford to be apprehensive about understanding and using technology.  This holds true as a practical matter and a matter of professionalism and competency.  The tech savvy lawyer no longer has the advantage over his or her peers.  Now, the non-tech savvy lawyer is at a distinct disadvantage

Follow Attorney Nessler to receive updates about developments in Legal Tech, including recommended articles from other industry standard publications and Legal Tech blogs.