Is Legal Technology All It’s Cracked Up to Be?
Written by Olivia Schmitt-Metz, Legal Technology Analyst- Summer 2022
Gone are the days when lawyers had to sift through dusty boxes in dark basements searching for information.1 With the rise in technology over the past several decades came a new kind of advancement: legal project management (PM) software. PM solutions are designed to accelerate and simplify virtually every step of the legal process (e.g., billing, managing cases, automating documents, etc.), which can ultimately save the lawyer hundreds of billable hours and, consequently, the client thousands of dollars. Also, an innovative time-saver for lawyers is contract lifecycle management (CLM) software, which automates contracts for ease of use and speedier exchanges.
Sounds Great, Right?
Not necessarily. Most big-name legal PM software such as Clio and Filevine has been declining in month-to-month use, while others such as Smokeball and CASEpeer are skyrocketing. Clio, founded in 2008, is down 18.4% in usage from last month, while Smokeball, founded in 2010, is up 188.45%. The hesitancy to implement legal PM software and abandon the "old-school" ways of manually managing projects could be attributed to the outdated methods that many lawyers still practice, with many small, in-house firms considering it an unnecessary investment.2 A more plausible explanation is that many legal PM systems lack certain aspects that lawyers deem fundamental: collaboration, task management, and integrations.
Smokeball is thriving while other legal PM solutions are declining, which can likely be chalked up to one of its main features: a portable client portal. The client portal has many features lawyers believe other legal PM systems are missing, such as instant access to documents, automatic time tracking features, and the ability to have more conversational interactions. With both a downloadable computer installation and a smartphone mobile app, Smokeball puts lawyer-client communication at the top of its marketable attributes.
Client Portals and In-App Messaging
Smokeball has something that many other legal PM solutions are lacking: an online portal where lawyers and clients can communicate in real-time directly through the software, similar to text messaging. This reduces the risk of emails getting lost in overfilled inboxes while encouraging transparency and trust between lawyer and client.
However, it's nearly impossible to guarantee that confidential information sent via these messaging services won't be intercepted or seen by other parties. Smokeball and other platforms that contain in-app messaging features utilize data privacy practices such as two-factor authentication, data encryption, and security monitoring. However, it's still very possible for advanced hackers to infiltrate conversations if motivated enough. The main issue with two-factor authentication, the primary security layer used by most PM solutions, is that it relies only on device authentication rather than identity authentication. It operates under the assumption that the device owner will be the only one using it, but this isn't always the case. Cybercriminals have discovered a way to authenticate devices virtually by cloning SIM cards and rerouting messages to their own phone, giving them complete access to any application that relies on two-factor authentication.3
A top priority for lawyers is ensuring confidentiality with their clients. To fully ensure that confidential conversations stay between sender and recipient, it’s crucial to develop a system of identity authentication in lieu of device authentication. Cybersecurity experts conclude biometric authentication (i.e., using face, retina, or fingerprint scanners) is more secure as it requires identity rather than device authentication and greatly reduces the risk of being hacked. Another more efficient (although complicated) method of authenticating users is the use of multi-factor authentication, which picks up on the ambient noise of a user’s cell phone and compares it to the ambient noise around the device requesting access to ensure that the user is in proximity to both devices.4
Artificial Intelligence
More than legal PM systems, CLM solutions have increasingly integrated AI into their programs for automation and efficiency. Unlike legal PM software, CLM solutions are expected to take off this year, with many softwares trending in a positive direction.5
Among these new CLM “bigwigs” is Ironclad. Ironclad has taken the use of AI to new heights by being the only company to partner with Google Cloud AI, the world’s most powerful machine learning technology.6 Google Cloud AI utilizes Google Cloud AutoML Natural Language process features, allowing for the automatic extraction of contract data with accuracy rates of over 90%. Like PM solutions, CLM software with this capability has the potential to save thousands of hours sorting through and creating contracts.
So, What Does This All Mean?
Unless you’re in a bigger firm with most people working remotely, legal PM solutions might not be worth the cost. Splitting the workflow between several different tools is not time-effective and has the potential to reduce productivity.7 CLM software, on the other hand, is an analytical tool that has very few drawbacks. With AI capabilities that seem to come straight out of Star Trek, productivity is at its highest potential and virtually errorless.
Tools for one firm won’t always work for another, but every established business can find room for improvement. If using automated software can save time so that workers can focus more on customer relations and satisfaction, why not take a leap of faith and abandon these old-school practices for something more productive? In this new era of modern technology, lawyers need to abandon these outdated practices and stop settling for good enough methods of creating and managing contracts and adapt to newer technology.
References
1 Minischetti, S. (2017). Old-School Lawyer Problems Resolved with New-School Technology. Zola Suite. Retrieved from https://zolasuite.com/blog/old-school-lawyer-problems-resolved-new-school-technology/
2 Foley Marketing Advisors. (n.d.). Major Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Project Management Software. Foley Marketing Advisors. Retrieved from https://foleymarketingadvisors.com/2021/11/04/major-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-using-project-management-software/
3 Barrow, G. (2020). What’s Wrong with Two-Factor Authentication? Security Scorecard. Retrieved from https://securityscorecard.com/blog/whats-wrong-with-two-factor-authentication
4 Blystone, K. (2020). The Best CLM Software: How High Tech Companies Benefit. Conga. Retrieved from https://conga.com/resources/blog/best-clm-software-how-high-tech-companies-benefit
5 Ironclad. (n.d.). The History of Contract Lifecycle Management. Ironclad. Retrieved from https://ironcladapp.com/journal/contract-management/contract-lifecycle-management/
6 Additional information about Google Cloud AI capabilities: https://cloud.google.com/responsible-ai and https://towardsdatascience.com/google-cloud-ai-platform-hyper-accessible-ai-machine-learning-cddd8c 3348b3
7 Brandall, B. (2017). Are Your Useless Tools to Blame for Bad Project Management? Process. Retrieved from https://www.process.st/bad-project-management/
