- The automation of some processes favors the increased detailing of legal tasks and the reallocation of each to the most efficient resource for its fulfillment.
- We are witnessing the disruption of a large variety of alternative business models to traditional law firms (the new law) and innovative ways of practicing law.
The development of technology big data And majors like machine learning Natural language processing has made it possible to design applications to automate various legal tasks that until now could only be performed by experienced professionals.
Among these legal AI systems, we can mention platforms The answer to the legal question, able to provide legally supported answers to legal questions formulated in natural language; Expert systems to carry out specific tasks such as managing legal risks and Compliance; virtual assistants and Chat bot To obtain a client’s legal advice on essential issues in specific matters; Systems for automated review and analysis of contracts, highly effective in operations due diligence; Web applications for the automatic preparation of contracts and other legal documents through an interactive dialogue between the program and the user; predictive analysis systems to identify judges and courts’ performance patterns; predictive cryptographic systems to automatically select any type of relevant electronic material in a judicial process; and even automated trading systems for online alternative dispute resolution.
This diffusion of legal AI, along with other forces whose effects feed off and reinforce each other, such as globalization, increased liberalization (either by law As for ipso facto) in the market for legal services and the increasing ability to put pressure on the prices of those seeking such services, is causing significant shifts in the practice of law and in the market for legal services, as can be clearly seen in countries that are at the forefront of loach.
A more polarized job market
In the professional field, the impact of these new tools is shaping a more polarized job market, as there is less demand for lawyers and professionals to perform some mid-level legal assignments. This does not mean a decrease in the overall demand for employment in this sector, because this negative impact is more than offset by the emergence of new mixed professional profiles – between law, technology and business administration – with high qualifications. But without a doubt, the most profound transformations concern the restructuring of legal work. The automation of some processes favors the increasing detailing of legal tasks and the reallocation of each to the source most efficient in achieving them, whether automated systems, technology-assisted paraprofessionals, or Outsourcers of the legal process.
Modification of traditional office organization schemes
This reconfiguration of legal activity, and the resulting new division of labor, is changing the traditional organizational charts of law firms, their staff structure and strategies for attracting talent. In this context, we are witnessing the disruption of a large variety of alternative business models for traditional law firms (new law) and in innovative ways in the practice of law. The models are, in general, more flexible, both for the professionals themselves (variety of binding formulas, variable dedication, elimination of hierarchical structures and launching tasks such as client search …) and for clients (variety of contractual formulas services, negotiation of alternative pricing systems, provision of services Online…).
“Commodity” some legal services
Likewise, the development of legal AI is leading to profound changes in the legal services market structure. Among the most obvious effects of the elaboration and automation of various legal tasks is the “commodification” of certain legal services, which is reinforced by the emergence of a wide range of providers of said alternative services at prices much lower than those of traditional law firms. Among these alternative providers, we find technology companies that make their technology applications directly available to the public through their digital platforms (the case of legalzoomwith its web applications for the automatic preparation of all kinds of legal documents) and a very heterogeneous conglomerate of companies of very diverse types which, based on analysis and redesign of processes and application of technology, specialize in providing services getting help from external sources Legal in the corporate market – including law firms themselves, which are increasingly turning to these alternative providers to outsource certain legal tasks -. Thus, we find ourselves in an increasingly fragmented and heterogeneous market for legal services, in which the legal profession has lost out ipso facto The monopolistic role it has traditionally played. This is certainly the most disruptive impact that the expansion of legal AI is having.
An opportunity for legal professionals
Likewise, the creation of virtual legal marketplaces (platforms Online Mediation between professionals and potential clients) that challenges current regulations and imposes their own rules of the game, transforming traditional conditions of legal service delivery, legal consumption habits, and attorney-client relationships. All this undoubtedly constitutes a much more complex ecosystem, of which the interested reader will be able to find a detailed analysis in Legal AI. But these dynamics driven by technological innovation also generate new needs, the satisfaction of which requires a deep knowledge of legal processes, and the legal profession is in ideal conditions to meet these emerging demands if it is able to adapt to the new environment.
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