In the past year, there’s been no shortage of debate and speculation on how both legal tech and AI could disrupt the sector.
In terms of using free generative AI tools such as ChatGPT for legal sources, small law firms and solo practitioners in the UK are still on the fence. 25% of our Bellwether survey respondents said they wouldn’t consider using open AI sources instead of paid. And the biggest group, at 51%, were those who were still unsure on their stance. It’s clear that a generative AI solution is needed to help smaller firms search, summarise, and draft documents from trusted, authorative sources instead of the open web. But 2024 will not be about bold AI decisions.
On the other hand, legal tech is already significantly more embedded in the way small firms operate, with 71% of lawyers already using a platform to manage cases and client information. And, for 2024, 81% of small firm lawyers said that keeping working practices and systems up-to-date will be a significant challenge.
In 2024, firms should be bold, and embrace automation to stay competitive. This is far simpler than often perceived and can be managed in-house, or by partnering with a law tech provider. These can be small scale changes, usually involving billing and payments, broad data entry, or document automation. In short, it’s a way of shifting tedious tasks from humans to machines, so you can focus more on valuable, client facing work.
