What is Legal Automation?
Discover how to super-charge the legal function.
Benefits Of Legal Automation For In-House Legal Teams
Legal automation involves the use of software to streamline, progress and manage tasks and activities that are common to the legal function, such as document creation, document review, communication, triage and work allocation, project management and much more.
Legal automation is relevant for both law firms and in-house legal teams; however, this article focuses on the latter.
According to recent research by Gartner, 92% of legal departments expect flat or reduced budgets in 2021, and in an environment where work-loads continue to soar and the legal team becomes even more stretched, legal automation can play a big part in ‘doing more with even less’.
These are some of the most common benefits of legal automation for in-house legal departments:
Legal automation is relevant for both law firms and in-house legal teams; however, this article focuses on the latter.
According to recent research by Gartner, 92% of legal departments expect flat or reduced budgets in 2021, and in an environment where work-loads continue to soar and the legal team becomes even more stretched, legal automation can play a big part in ‘doing more with even less’.
These are some of the most common benefits of legal automation for in-house legal departments:
Reduction of administration tasks
Reduction of enterprise risks
Ease of remote working
Greater adherence to compliance and regulations
Faster service delivery for internal clients
Some report greater job satisfaction, more consistent work quality across a team and less fearfulness that something important will get missed or overlooked.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
In the legal team, automation will not substitute a lawyer, however it can remove or reduce many repeatable, often annoying tasks that lawyers don’t really want to be doing. Utilising legal automation can help in-house lawyers focus their time and energy on the more important, valuable and strategic work for their organisation.
Further, through streamlining processes, improving efficiency and structured communication, legal automation can also empower and enable the legal function to deliver a service that is more consistent, responsive and a provide a foundation for continuous improvement.
Further, through streamlining processes, improving efficiency and structured communication, legal automation can also empower and enable the legal function to deliver a service that is more consistent, responsive and a provide a foundation for continuous improvement.
Types Of Legal Automation
The most common and popular automation applications within the legal function are generally for high volume, low value, routine tasks such as:
Document automation, especially for low complexity agreements
Automating workflow processes such as intake, triage, work allocation, managing approvals and briefing of external lawyers
Managing of contract deadlines
Digital signature processes
Document review, drafts and finals
Setting up tasks, processes, updates and internal/external communications
Capturing and analysing important data and information across the function, digitally and securely
These repeatable processes can often be mapped out by an experienced in-house counsel and automated using software to ensure that best practice and knowledge is applied throughout the team ensuring consistency and reducing risk.
What Legal Automation Software Is Best?
This really depends on the types and scale of legal work across the legal department.
At one end of the continuum specialist solutions would be best, for example, with contract heavy legal functions, contract automation software is ideal for ensuring that contracts are managed in the most efficient way across the entire organisation. Alternatively, specialist document automation solutions could be required for very large legal departments and law firms alike. It is important to note that these specialist systems generally require a significant time investment to set up and manage, thus a dedicated project manager is recommended.
At the other end of the continuum is where the majority of small to mid-sized legal teams fit: they generally need the efficiency gains of automation, yet don’t have the scale required for the investment into a specialist solution. For these organisations, it’s best practice to find a technology provider that can give you the biggest impact across a breadth of areas. For example, a vendor that specialises in legal workflow automation can also be used for low complexity document automation and project management. A provider such as this may also be able to automate the management of matters, reduce manual administration time and track critical contract processes.
At one end of the continuum specialist solutions would be best, for example, with contract heavy legal functions, contract automation software is ideal for ensuring that contracts are managed in the most efficient way across the entire organisation. Alternatively, specialist document automation solutions could be required for very large legal departments and law firms alike. It is important to note that these specialist systems generally require a significant time investment to set up and manage, thus a dedicated project manager is recommended.
At the other end of the continuum is where the majority of small to mid-sized legal teams fit: they generally need the efficiency gains of automation, yet don’t have the scale required for the investment into a specialist solution. For these organisations, it’s best practice to find a technology provider that can give you the biggest impact across a breadth of areas. For example, a vendor that specialises in legal workflow automation can also be used for low complexity document automation and project management. A provider such as this may also be able to automate the management of matters, reduce manual administration time and track critical contract processes.
Supporting Your Legal Function
Transparency
Lawcadia provides complete visibility of matters, tracks internal legal work, stores all documents and communications, and reports on key metrics.
Objective Decision-Making
With Lawcadia, all matter-related decisions are supported by objective data which can be measured, monitored and audited.
Impactful Reporting
General Counsels love visual reports, and Lawcadia provides rich, accurate data and reports on workload, matter status, critical deadlines, and tasks.
No-Code Automation
Automated workflows with built-in logic ensure that the right actions, processes and approvals are established and streamlined in one system.
Demonstrate Value
Monitor and report on the metrics that matter to you, leveraging accurate data to demonstrate the legal department's value.
Productivity
Lawcadia supports and complements your existing processes and systems with workflows and integrations to enhance your productivity.
Predictability
Lawcadia aids strategic decisions by capturing historic and anticipated legal spend, crucial for financial planning and forecasts.
Law Firm Management
Lawcadia provides objective and subjective data to evaluate the performance of legal services providers, informing future buying decisions.
Secure Transfer Of Data
With a purpose-built secure interface between organisation and law firms, data transfers accurately and efficiently between both parties.
