IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON THE PRACTICE OF LAW

Author: Sneha Udayan, National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi

ABSTRACT

The legal industry has experienced a sudden and rapid change due to the integration of technology. This project looks into the historical evolution of technology in law, focusing on its role in legal research, communication, and document management. It looks into the advantages and disadvantages of legal technology, emphasising how it has changed the way legal professionals work and interact with their clients. The introduction of virtual courtrooms and the application of blockchain technology are keenly observed, along with the potential future of legal technology. Ultimately, this project portrays how technology changes the legal atmosphere, offering new opportunities and challenges.

Keywords- Legal technology, blockchain in law, legal software systems, virtual courtrooms

INTRODUCTION

Technology is trending across all business industries, and the world of law is no different. The legal sector used to lag in adopting new technologies, but now clever technological tools have streamlined the processes, making lawyers' jobs more efficient. With its numerous benefits, technologies like artificial intelligence and analytics have taken hold of the legal industry and have become imperative for their functionality. Lawyers are adopting smart technologies like artificial intelligence and cloud computing, which are proving to be the legal industry's future. Advanced technology, hence, is the latest in the market. Cloud computing, artificial intelligence, database management systems, research tools, accounting software, etc., are the technological trends that are ruling in the legal industry. These technologies have helped them to simplify their work and gain efficiency. Technology has also helped legal students. It has provided the students with easy access to legal materials, research cases, and knowledge about the latest legal developments. In Meters and Instruments v. Kanchan Mehta, it was pointed out by the Supreme Court that the “Use of modern technology needs to be considered not only for paperless courts but also to reduce overcrowding of courts”.

HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE LEGAL FIELD

The emergence of legal technology was around the year 2000. Before that, lawyers had to review books, handwritten cases, and relevant cases available only in the library. They had to spend additional time searching these legal materials for their legal research. They had to be present in the courtrooms to know more about the cases. But with the emergence of legal technology, all those things said above can be done within a few seconds. They are available at our fingertips. The development of the dot-com boom in 2000 made a pathway for the launch of various websites and portals, which were helpful for legal researchers. By developing its online database, Manupatra started online legal research in India. With the help of this initiative, lawyers were able to get easy access to case laws from different courts in India, government notifications, central and state legislations, etc. All these documents are available on a single platform with just a mouse click. The specialised legal research websites had search interfaces that allowed lawyers to search for important documents and information using keywords easily, relevant search words, the year of judgment, and even the name of the judge who issued the decision. Customisation of search options was unknown to lawyers before the turn of the century. The simplicity with which they could do legal research made them grasp the possibilities of technology in their industry. The Information Technology Act of 2000 provided additional momentum to e-signatures, paving the road for document digitisation. This initial phase signalled the start of a technological revolution in the legal sector, opening up fresh opportunities for transformation into a technology-driven industry. The legal technology experienced further growth between 2005 and 2010. During this period, legal researchers and lawyers were not only able to get access to the case laws but also to many law journals and law books. This made a significant impact on legal technology. It took several years for Google Scholar, released in 2004, to be recognised as an authorised resource for legal research. It provided access to a limited number of pages and books published in the international journal. This was like a reward for the lawyers who could not access materials from international journals. With this, lawyers began to depend more on legal technology. As a result of these changes, online legal news verticals like Legally India and Bar and Bench have grown.

THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN LEGAL RESEARCH

Technology plays a vital role in legal research. It has made legal officers, clerical workers, and lawyers do their work more productively, smoothly, and efficiently. With the rise of legal technology, there is more transparency between law firms and clients. People get to know how law firms work, and clients understand the fees they have to pay for their cases and can monitor their lawyer’s day-to-day progress on their issues. With technology in the legal field, lawyers and legal researchers can finish their work faster than when technology was not used in the legal field. Therefore, technology has been proven to greatly assist law firms and legal researchers.

Technology is transforming the legal sector in various ways.

Automated process - In the past, all internal legal responsibilities have been completed manually. Lawyers spend a lot of time working with non-lawyers and other business experts. They also have to spend time running along with their duties. Of these, sixty-three per cent are based on fact and repeatable. In the present situation, legal technologies such as word processors and eDiscovery software take over and do the job automatically. This speeds up processes and provides solicitors more time to focus on other profitable duties.
Ease of research – Even though legal professionals are used to using the internet and other resources for research, they still rely on printed materials. This method is time-consuming because if there is any change in the laws, rules, and regulations, they must again take printouts of the materials. This can be avoided with legal research tools. Lawyers and legal researchers can get any amended laws. Rules and regulations can be found by just typing in a search bar. They get updated with the rules and changes even when not at their desk.
Improved resource management – In the past, junior attorneys and lawyers were directed to all odd jobs such as collecting, keeping, organising, and processing titles and telling lawyers about their daily schedule. This disinterests them in the legal process and makes senior attorneys worry. Because they did not know how to utilize their ability properly. However, the rise of legal technology has solved this problem. Instead of doing all the odd jobs by junior lawyers and attorneys, legal technology can do half of the jobs that lawyers do. For example, title-related jobs and all the tasks they have to do on a particular day can be done with the help of legal title management and calendaring software. With the help of this technology, senior attorneys can make better and more efficient use of resources (in this case, junior attorneys). As a result, better results are obtained.
Enhanced transparency - Today, many lawyers also present their customers' problems in a more complex way to increase the amount they earn. They do not reveal that the solution to their difficulty is as simple as using a DSLR. Furthermore, legal practices are limited to offline sources. This makes clients suspicious of any lawyer they contact. This issue, nevertheless, can be improved with the assistance of the best legal practice management systems and other similar products. These technological solutions can create an online marketing platform where clients are able to go through the profiles of the best attorneys in the legal industry. They can select the best attorneys by looking at their profiles. They will also get updated about every detail of their case. This will create transparency and trust between the client and legal professionals.

VIRTUAL COURTROOMS

Over the past two decades, digital technology has revolutionised the legal industry, vastly changing how legal practices are conducted worldwide. The 1980s until the mid-1990s marked the era of telefax, but that changed with the advent of the internet, email, Skype, and videoconferencing. The E-Committee of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Dhananjay Chandrachud, has taken commendable initiatives to implement virtual courtrooms. The E-Committee of the Delhi High Court has also played a significant role in this endeavour. Because of their efforts, we can now participate in court proceedings virtually, revolutionising the legal system and making it more accessible. During the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual courtrooms played an important role. Technology has enabled courts worldwide to hold hearings remotely, providing a way to connect people who may not have access to the real world, offline space, for some reason. However, judges have decided how to proceed with hearings during lockdown and how they should be conducted in the interest of justice. The goal is to hold fair hearings that are open to the public. Urgent hearings have taken place remotely, and while there have been challenges and lessons learned, most courts have successfully transitioned to new, virtual ways of conducting hearings. Although methods and processes may differ from court to court, the overall effect is innovative disruption across the entire court community.

Virtual proceedings enable a speedy settlement of cases, and it is cost-effective. Long waiting hours at the courtrooms and frequent visits to the court can be avoided with virtual courtrooms. This will increase the productivity of the lawyers. They get more time to focus on their cases. There are also virtual ADR hearings and the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) process, like virtual courtrooms. In the case of State of Maharashtra v. Dr. Praful B. Desai, the Supreme Court held that video conferencing can be used for recording evidence, recognising it as a valid method of examination under Section 273 CrPC.

THE IMPACT OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY ON LEGAL TRANSACTIONS

To save data from manipulations, blockchain technology is essential in the legal field. Through smart contracts, blockchain simplifies contract drafting and management. Smart contract programs recorded on a blockchain are defined as self-executing since they only work when contract criteria are met. The application of blockchain technology in the legal field helps law firms store extensive data.

BENEFITS OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY

The usage of blockchain allows lawyers to speed up their transactional work, digitally sign papers, and maintain legal agreements in a permanent manner. As a result, programmed text and automated contract management save time spent on document preparation, file sorting, and paperwork organisation. The cost of physically storing these documents is eliminated, and clients no longer have to pay for the unnecessary time lawyers spend generating these documents. As a result, implementing blockchain into the legal sector makes legal services more affordable and accessible to the general population.

It increases the transparency. Using the distributed technology in blockchain creates a shared ledger that can be accessible to all parties. And also, the contracts made using blockchain reduce the risk and chance of misinterpretation. Lawyers can simply follow and view the motions of digital documents without worrying about their being deleted or altered. This not only increases transparency but also generates unambiguous evidence for judicial procedures.

Law firm data is protected by blockchain technology. Blockchain's asymmetric cryptography provides secure transactions between users. Blockchain's asymmetric cryptography provides secure transactions between users. Every single user has a public and private key that is made up of a random string of cryptographically linked numbers, making it impossible to hack into or predict the key of another user.

Blockchain technology is used as a tool to record unregistered intellectual property rights. Through blockchain, it is much easier to record and maintain documents that set up the moment of creation, rights management information, and necessary jurisdictional requirements. It allows law firms to keep track of the events for a long time. This function is highly useful for long-running copyright and trademark infringement lawsuits. It keeps a public record of all the copyright owners for readily available copyright materials, which are easily accessible on online platforms. It can also track who has watched and downloaded each piece of copyrighted content.

THE DISADVANTAGES OF USING LEGAL TECHNOLOGY

The Legal industry is rapidly evolving with the advent of technology. The impact of technology on the industry has been both positive and negative. On the one hand, technological advancements have automated many traditionally performed tasks, such as legal research, document drafting, and case management. This automation can lead to a reduction in the need for lawyers and a corresponding downward pressure on fees.

The use of technology in the legal field also eliminates bookstores and poses a job threat to legal employees.

On the other hand, technology has also made it easier for clients to search for and compare lawyers and to conduct their legal research and document drafting. This increased transparency can make it difficult for lawyers to charge high fees, and it can also lead to increased competition among lawyers.

Furthermore, technology has also brought about new challenges, such as data privacy and security concerns. With the increasing use of digital platforms, there is a higher risk of sensitive client data being compromised. Legal professionals need to stay up-to-date with technological advancements while also ensuring that they maintain their ethical and legal obligations to protect client data. Using technology in the legal field comes with the risk of cyber attacks, as it contains clients’ personal information in digital storage. Even though the technology has cloud storage, which is a safer way to store the clients’ personal data, the risk of a cyberattack cannot be ignored.

THE FUTURE OF LEGAL TECHNOLOGY

LegalTech companies and other startup companies promise to assist lawyers and law firms in working more efficiently, providing the best services, and, most significantly, saving money, time, and resources. With the growth of the legal industry, new software development services will increase in the market, which benefits both lawyers and law firms. It is important to note that not only do lawyers prefer legal technology, but clients also prefer it. So, there is no doubt that legal technology will play a vital role in law in the future.

These latest innovations in the field of law tech will not only change centuries-old professions, like being a lawyer, but will also allow us to conceptually change many of the big concepts we’ve had, like trust, contracts, and access to justice. Some law tech start-ups are building legal chatbots. These messaging apps allow you to talk as if you are talking to a human lawyer, but instead, you are talking to a computer program that can answer you anytime, anywhere, with answers to your basic legal questions. While the most complex and bespoke legal questions will and should be answered by human lawyers, the reality is that we can now program a lot of basic legal answer decision trees and deliver this via chatbots to the public at large via tools that people use every day.

LITERATURE REVIEW

This article reviews how technology has transformed the legal field, emphasising the shift from traditional methods to tech-based practices like online research tools, virtual courtrooms, and blockchain. It highlights the increasing reliance of legal professionals on software for research, document management, and client communication, while also noting the development of legal databases like Manupatra and Google Scholar. Overall, it discusses the benefits and challenges of technology in modern legal practice.

METHODOLOGY

This article conducts a secondary analysis of qualitative data from various sources, including research papers and articles related to the topic. These resources provide the essential database for the study. Examining arguments for and against the topic is crucial to understanding the current situation without bias.

CONCLUSION

In short, technology has had a huge impact on the legal industry. It has improved the efficiency of legal research, improved document management, and opened up new communication channels. From advanced legal research tools to virtual courtrooms and blockchain innovations, this has transformed the legal process. The introduction of technology in the field of law has made a new beginning in which lawyers, attorneys, and legal researchers benefit from it. To summarise, technology has aided in different parts of the law and has also played a role in keeping social order. As technology continues to expand its reach, it becomes vital for legal professionals to promote ethical usage in order to support good governance and social order.