Legal technology, also known as Legal Tech, refers to the use of technology and software to provide legal services and support the legal industry. Legal Tech companies are often startups founded with the purpose of disrupting the traditionally conservative legal market.
Key areas
Traditional areas of Legal Tech include:
- Accounting
- Billing
- Document automation
- Document storage
- Electronic discovery
- Legal research
- Practice management
- Case management
More recent areas of growth in Legal Tech focus on:
- Providing tools or a marketplace to connect clients with lawyers
- Client Relationship Management(CRM) tools
- Providing tools for consumers and businesses to complete legal matters by themselves, obviating the need for a lawyer
- Data and contract analytics
- Law practice optimization
- Use of legally binding digital signature, which helps verify the digital identity of each signer, maintains the chain of custody for the documents and can provide audit trails
- Automation of legal writing or other substantive aspects of legal practice
- Platforms for succession planning i.e Will writing, via online applications
- Providing tools to assist with immigration document preparation in lieu of hiring a lawyer.
