Your in-house legal team is probably already using technology in some form to support your everyday work – even if it’s just email and spreadsheets. However, rather than enhancing productivity, disconnected software tools which are not purpose built for legal use can have the opposite effect, generating friction and administrative overhead without offering clear visibility into output.

On the other hand, the right legal technology tools, properly implemented, can dramatically optimize your team’s legal workflows, freeing up your time and resources to focus on high-value work which serves strategic business objectives.

In this article, we consider how dedicated legal technology can add value to the legal function, dig into the various types of solutions available, and explore how legal teams can leverage the most common applications of these tools in-house.

The benefits of legal technology

Legal technology is an extensive category of software which encompasses a range of tools and platforms designed to help legal teams perform at their best. In-house, this technology can be used to support every aspect of the legal function, whether you’re a lone General Counsel or work as part of a larger in-house corporate department.

There are myriad benefits to be gained from strategically leveraging legal technology tools – both for your legal team and the wider business that you serve. Some of the biggest advantages are:

• Operational efficiency: Legal technology can optimize (or even automate) routine tasks, connect different areas of the legal function, and streamline the way legal interacts with the wider business. Although such in-house legal software targets legal’s needs first, improvements to systems and productivity often have a knock-on effect on the rest of the organization.

• Time savings: Legal technology solutions which improve productivity and empower business users to self-serve can create time-saving opportunities by accelerating individual areas of work, such as searching for documents or approving contracts. With less time spent on low-value administrative tasks, legal teams can focus on aligning their work with wider business goals.

• Data empowerment: Legal technology tools can generate data-driven insights which provide visibility over what is going on across your department. Access to visual summaries gives a snapshot of workloads, spend and output, helping legal teams to spot trends, navigate potential issues and manage risk.

Legal technology and ROI

Like all business spending, legal technology budgets must be justified based on their return on investment. The right legal tech solution should yield significant improvements in your team’s productivity, providing a strong ROI.

Data-rich legal operations software which includes insights and reporting functionalities will also make the process of identifying and showcasing cost savings even easier.

Legal technology applications

The legal technology market features a broad range of tools designed for singular use cases, end-to-end workflow management, or a combination of both. Tools built for single use cases (otherwise known as point solutions) address specific workflows, while more comprehensive platforms consolidate multiple legal workflows into one system.

Common applications of legal technology within an in-house environment include:

• Document management: Document management tools can be used to build a collective knowledge base which brings the legal department together. This type of software is invaluable for establishing a system of record, as it stores information in a way that can be organized, searched and shared easily.

• ELM (Enterprise Legal Management): These legal technology tools are designed to work at scale to help manage multiple legal department workflows, from matter, contract and spend management to e-billing.

• Contract lifecycle management: These legal technology tools allow you to retrieve, review, negotiate and approve contracts from within one system. They are great for managing contracts end-to-end, particularly those which leverage automation and templates to further streamline the contract lifecycle.

• E-billing and legal spend management: These tools can help you track costs, manage invoices, and evaluate legal spend by drawing on real-time data.

• AI-powered tools: Legal technology tools which come with built-in AI capabilities can now automate multiple elements of legal workflows, from contract and invoice data extraction to intake and document management.

• Matter management: Matter management software can be used to centralize all matter-related information and workflows. These tools help track progress, manage tasks, and ensure accountability, enhancing efficiency and collaboration within your legal team.

How to effectively implement in-house legal software

Legal technology tools are most useful when applied in a way that meets the individual needs and objectives of your legal team and wider business.

Successful software implementation first depends on thorough planning to locate the areas of work that represent potential opportunities or historical problems. Once identified, collating these into a business case enables the rest of your organization to understand and greenlight the process to find the tech solution that best aligns with your legal environment.

After evaluating the legal technology available that best serves the issues that you have identified, it’s important to compare different solutions across multiple criteria as part of the implementation process. This should include the following:

• Consider ease of use and any potential difficulties that might arise with training and enablement down the line.

• Visualize what effective adoption would look like, and draft timelines for how long implementation is likely to take.

• Scalability is a key consideration when it comes to long-term investment. Not all legal technology tools come with scope to grow with the business, and this can also impact ROI.

• Robust security and data encryption is critical for storing sensitive information, compliance, and adhering to privacy legislation.

Legal technology implementation also entails ongoing support and updates once your new system is in place. It is critical to find a vendor that you trust, and with whom you can build a relationship to provide feedback.

Vendors who regularly ship upgrades that do not require heavy lifting on your part are ideal for in-house legal teams.

A unified legal workspace

Finding the tech which best aligns with your legal department can be challenging given the continued proliferation of new tools and solutions on the market.

Among the tools available in this space, an all-in-one solution which combines multiple workflows could have the most tangible effect on the efficiency and overall value delivered by your in-house legal department.

LawVu’s legal workspace takes a unified approach, allowing you to manage all your legal work in one place. To learn more, get in touch with one of our experts to request a demo now.