Benefits and the Climb of Legal Automation

I decided to pick up where I left off in my last post. Previously,

I addressed lessons that I have learned through my experience with automation in the legal sphere. Although the question of how to implement automation is important, so is the question addressed in this post. What are the benefits of legal automation? Below are just a few of the touchstone benefits that automation has to offer, however, many other benefits are present and continue to grow as automation becomes more common in legal.

One example of automation is a project I completed for school that automated the hiring process for new employees at a law firm. This automation process could be applied across disciplines and benefit more than just the legal field. Think about the use of automation in a variety of contexts and use cases when reading about the benefits.

Productivity and Time Savings

Productivity and time savings equate to cost savings, which is the driving force for many legal departments and law firms. Think about it this way: You can either have the automation tool do the work or you can have the employee do the work that could be done by the automation system. As a result of automating processes, employees and staff are free to use their time on more complex matters. This not only results in an increase in cost savings through employing less staff, but also the productivity of already hired employees. Here, the focus should not be on the fact that automation results in less jobs, but that automation allows for more work to be done simultaneously and allows for more important tasks to be completed quicker.

Increase of Data Collection

The use of automation tools increases the ease of data collection for law firms or legal departments. Automation tools contain data collection sources that allow for all data to be stored securely and efficiently within the tool. Law firms or legal departments can quickly find and manage the data to ensure that they are meeting business demands. Not only do employees need to find and manage the data, but now the data can be used more frequently to increase revenue and report on various tasks.

Certainty and Client Satisfaction

The implementation of automation ensures that processes are done the same way every single time without human error, thus increasing the certainty and reliability of the work. As technology becomes more prevalent in society, clients expect more transparent solutions. Automating processes creates more responsiveness as a result. All of this leads to greater client satisfaction and again, revenue.

Gaining a Leg Up Over the Competition

It is no secret that the legal field is highly competitive. The use of automation and the resulting benefits only increase the likelihood of gaining a leg up over the competition. Clients will look to the firm or legal department for reliable results and in turn more tasks will be completed through the use of automation. Tasks that other firms and legal departments charge their clients for or that take more resources, time, and money to complete can all be completed through automation.

The benefits of automation are clear. It is just a matter of firms and legal departments taking the steps necessary to implement these processes into their businesses. Many firms and legal departments are still skeptical about the benefits of technology, but will soon find that it will be a necessity to compete with their competitors.

This blog post is also posted on legalbusinessworld.com!