A survey of 700 lawyers in U.S. and European law firms, legal departments and business-services firms finds that organizations that already leverage technology are better prepared to keep pace with an evolving legal market than those that are just beginning to use technology or that are not doing so at all.
In addition, firms that were early adopters of technology were significantly more likely to report higher profitability in the last year than were firms that lagged in technology adoption.
These are among the results of the 2019 Future Ready Lawyer Survey, conducted by Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory and being released today as a 24-page report.
“The legal technology boom has been underway for a few years – but for the first time, we are seeing a clear competitive advantage for firms that are adopting innovative solutions earlier than others,” said Dean Sonderegger, vice president and general manager for legal markets and innovation at Wolters Kluwer.
The survey asked lawyers to assess their current state, future priorities and future preparedness across three core areas:
Tools and technology. Client needs and expectations. Organization and talent.
Based on lawyers’ answers regarding their use of technology, the survey classified their legal organizations into three categories:
Leading, meaning the organization is effectively leveraging technology already and will continue to do so. Transitioning, meaning the organization is somewhat leveraging technology and plans to invest more over the next three years. Trailing, meaning the organization is not leveraging technology now and has no plans to.
The good news is that the survey found only 4% of organizations to be trailing, and so the report focuses on the 49% it classified as leading and the 47% it identified as transitioning.
Following are some key findings of the survey.
Preparedness for Change
Overall,
