In May, Seyfarth attorneys Katherine Perrelli, Robert Milligan, and Dawn Mertineit participated in the ITechLaw 2019 World Technology Conference in Boston.
Seyfarth Partner Katherine Perrelli moderated the "Tech Transformation of Legal Services Delivery: Opportunities, Barriers, and Potential Solutions" session. The seesion focused on the current state of legal tech tools, as well as the opportunities and challenges presented by the use of tech tools in delivering legal services.
As a conclusion to the conference, we compiled a summary of takeaways:
- Tech transformation is impacting both the business of law and the practice of law. Robotic process automation (RPA), machine learning and natural language processing, knowledge management, legal project management, data analytics, and technology-enabled delivery channels appear to be the areas of focus.
- Clients are increasingly demanding to know what legal tech their outside counsel is using—no longer sufficient to do legal work the "old" way if you want to retain clients
- Increased efficiency through the use of technology is good for clients, and despite the perception to the contrary, should positively impact firms' bottom lines. Attorneys should work at the "top of their license" and deliver real value to clients. While not all legal work can or should be replaced by technology solutions, many tasks that lawyers perform can be either replaced or positively impacted through use of technology. (see e.g., contract management solutions, computer assisted document review with predictive coding and other analytical software automated learning) and allow them to work on other projects more suitable for their experience.