RISING DEMAND FOR LEGAL TECH STARTUPS IN A POST COVID WORLD
INTRODUCTION: Law, order, and justice are now essential components for upholding certainty in the global age. Since the time that legal services have been a widespread phenomena, demand for legal document creation, approved applications, intellectual property management, and company structure has surged. Therefore, there is no question that the constantly developing technology has permeated the entire commercial world, making every element of life digitally dependent, with the demand for legal technology startups and the services they provide being no exception.
The adoption of Legal Technology, often known as Legal Tech, as a result of the development of technology in the legal industry has drastically altered the legal environment. The term “legal innovation” is widely used to describe the use of programming and invention to help law firms and legal advisors by streamlining their work, delivering legal services much more quickly and effectively, and improving public access to legal information.
What exactly are legal tech startups?
Tech in law Startups are a subset of the larger businesses that leverage these legal technologies to offer comprehensive legal services through an internet platform, much like its older and better known FinTech (Financial Technology). These start-ups sought to replace the established legal practitioners’ traditional legal procedural work techniques with more modern, technologically advanced alternatives. In a sense, by making the legal industry more distinctive, changes were being made to the consumer experience.
One of the main effects and objectives of the legal tech industry in terms of technology is to enhance legal practice through the incorporation of a greater tech component. It is crucial to ascertain whether these modifications or deployments will actually disrupt the market or merely result in a little lengthening of the time needed to supply services to customers.
Why tech startups in the law?
Breaking with convention
The goal of the legal technology is to lessen the amount of in-person client consultations that are necessary. Modern technology allows them to connect online and at any time, including while they are seated at their laptops, when formerly the harmed parties would typically consult lawyers for guidance about their troubles. In this area, the market presented a significant challenge to the practises of traditional law firms. In a typical law office, where there is a lot of activity and probably twice as much administrative work, it takes a lawyer roughly 18 to 20 hours to complete a report from start to finish.
This also illustrates the influence on modern entrepreneurs. In contrast to large, traditional law firms, legal digital start-ups have the ability to provide something special: flexibility, which enables businesses to alter the work processes of their workers, assisting in the retention of talent and the promotion of employee engagement. This effect will gradually become apparent within traditional law firms’ human resources departments as young, talented, and newly graduated lawyers pursue entrepreneurial trajectories and employment in legal start-ups.
Law firms are embracing technology
The fact that law firms, which are not often associated with the fast-paced world of digital start-ups, are beginning to recognise the importance of being close to the action speaks volumes about the growing need for the use of such legal start-ups. Despite the stereotype that lawyers are risk-averse and, thus, tech-averse, more businesses are utilising technology to streamline processes and increase productivity. Several companies have established innovation departments or cooperated with legal-tech companies to gain a competitive edge. In terms of performance, revenue, and client relations, innovative businesses typically exceed their conventional rivals.
Developments in legal technology
The evolution of legal technology has made it a crucial element of rivalry between legal market players. The literature on how the rising demand resulted in the emergence of new services and business models in the legal industry has been enriched by a number of findings that demonstrate how legal technology enables lawyers to generate affordable and accessible innovative solutions and operate in a more comfortable setting. Since they offer a variety of new and enhanced alternatives, including education, legal services, and technical developments, and because they are essential to the growth and development of the economy, legal tech businesses are in high demand in India.
Additionally, they deliver a broad range of legal services in a prompt, affordable, and effective manner, which helps both the clients and the business. Significant investment in this sector also enables legal technology companies to continue on the cutting edge of innovation. According to Jim Leason, Vice President, Customer Markets at Thomson Reuters, “Legal tech is increasingly receiving funding from a variety of sources, including law firms themselves, private equity, and venture capital funds. This enthusiasm has given start-ups the necessary boost to get their goods off the ground.”
Industries in legal technology during the Covid-19 Pandemic
The Coronavirus pandemic has had an effect on the global industry. The global office culture transitioned to an online structure because, before civilization, social isolation was the only way to stop disease from spreading.
Every aspect of society was affected by the epidemic, including the judicial system. The court system was severely damaged by Covid-19 because it was built on an antiquated framework for administering justice and providing legal representation.
To have one’s case heard in court originally required an in-person appearance. On the other hand, the epidemic has compelled the legal system to create technologies, such online trials or teleconference, where council members and attorneys may actually attend for their cases while resting in their own homes.
The benefit of interacting with clients and responding to their clients’ questions online is available to advocates as well. The epidemic has altered how attorneys and other legal professionals practise. It has increased the likelihood that law firms will adopt new technology.
As law schools migrated online and transitioned to an online mode of instruction, students adapted to online education. In addition to being a top focus for big law firms, technology has continued to be a top priority for small law firms, with legal startups investing in the same.
The virus has significantly helped legal tech companies provide legal aid in all its forms. The epidemic has forced the legal industry to upgrade and make the transition to digitalization.
The epidemic, which kept netizens confined to their homes and welcoming internet online cures to their purported bodily worries, is another factor contributing to a rise in demand for legal tech services. Legal matters that were formerly settled by office visits and face-to-face meetings are now resolved on the internet because these activities were prohibited. People who were in need of immediate legal counsel for divorce and property problems were in a situation of legal distress.
The legal profession is becoming more digital
As the Coronavirus confines people to their homes, internet users enjoy online treatments for ostensibly physical issues. Online forums have replaced in-person meetings and office visits as the primary means of resolving legal disputes. Anyone in need of immediate legal counsel on divorce, property disputes, or other legal issues is searching for ways to do it. In the same way that the pandemic has forced the legal profession to rely on technology, such as virtual hearings or videoconferencing, in which counsels and lawyers can appear online for their cases while sitting in their homes, lawyers who are concerned about physical proximity are also looking for ways to take their practise online using well-known technologies.
The fact that the bidding lawyers are familiar with the numerous technology aspects makes it easier for them as well. Himanshu Gupta, the founder of legal software company Lawyered, noted that the current generation of lawyers, who are also computer savvy, make it much simpler to describe and demonstrate the potential of our platform. On the other side, COVID-19 has taught people all across the world about the benefits of digital. Additionally, given the burden on traditional judicial services, it can also be argued that legal technology may hold the key to the current predicament.
The pandemic has spurred the legal industry to grow and seek for digitalization, and it has improved efficiency. Such a comprehensive programme also serves as a catalyst for resolving everyday legal issues involving families or organisations in rural areas where it is much more challenging to physically contact legal specialists.
Several of India’s top startups in legal technology
The judicial system in India is being gradually replaced by numerous technological developments. The traditional legal industry is slowly being overtaken by the legal-tech sector. There is a legal instrument online for every legal idea. Be it legal news and research, handling customer complaints, selecting attorneys, and much more. Here are a few of the top Indian legal tech start-ups that have revolutionised the Indian legal market.
Volody
One of the top legal technology start-ups in India for handling contracts is called Volody. Users may draught, certify, and send their contracts online thanks to this artificial intelligence-based programme.
Mike Legal
An AI-based legal tech start-up called Mike Legal manages documents pertaining to intellectual property and other IP-related information. Users can access various legal technology tools from this start-up, including mikeTM search, mike manager, mike litigator, etc. These tools all offer services for IP management.
LawRato
LawRato is an interactive online platform that enables real-time video consultations with attorneys. It was developed by Rohan Mahajan and offers consumers, particularly female victims of violent crimes and war widows, free initial legal advice. Its most famous victory was providing Nirbhaya’s parents with experienced attorneys who worked pro bono when the case went to the Supreme Court, regardless of the outcome.
iPleaders
In order to make legal education more accessible to everyone in the legal industry via the internet, Ramanuj Mukherjee and Abhyudaya Agarwal founded iPleaders in 2010. iPleaders is an education company that creates and provides online legal and business courses. In cooperation with NUJS, Kolkata, it runs an online business diploma programme in entrepreneurship administration and business law. It also offers an online training programme for the All-India Bar Examinations called Bar Hacker.
Presolv360
Presolv360 is a well-known legal-tech platform with offices in Mumbai that focuses on combining media and technology to resolve financial disputes. In June 2017, Bhaven Shah and Aman Sanghavi founded it, providing a great forum for the discussion of business disputes. It offers an online arbitration option for commercial disputes. It helps parties to disputes come to a quicker, more cost-efficient, and successful settlement outside of court.
LegalKart
Arvind Singhatiya founded LegalKart in 2018 as an online service that provides legal counsel and help with documentation via an app for as little as Rs. 249 and higher. The company has seen customers spend 20,000 minutes every month to discuss legal problems and procedures. It has over 8,000 lawyers in over 800 locations. It seeks to develop Legal Kart into an AI-enabled system capable of smart research, automatic contract drafting using machine learning, and integrating an ecosystem of all stakeholders, including clients, attorneys, and businesses.
These companies are also dispelling the myth that certain services, including legal counsel, are expensive. Instead, low-income end users can now save money on legal representation because to legal technology. However, many legal professionals are also concerned that emerging technologies like AI, machine learning, and others could jeopardise their careers. However, there is no proof that these concerns exist; rather, such technology will enhance the abilities of attorneys.
Optimisation Process
Since a few years ago, every part of life must be becoming more technologically advanced, despite the fact that legal tech has permeated the whole legal sector. It was noted that well-established businesses adopted the strategy of enhancing these less-expensive, simpler services because they attracted smaller profit margins and less-restrictive mental models; however, this strategy did not succeed due to a lack of emphasis on customers’ needs, a reluctance to learn and adapt technologies, and a lack of experimentation. It was determined that there was a better approach to adopt these new technologies, implying that it was necessary to plan the route for future acceptance of legal technology.
CONCLUSION
It should come as no surprise that the future of legal practise will depend more and more on modern technology, with some meetings possibly taking place online. The industry will advance beyond conventional legal procedures or courtrooms to some sort of diagnostic system that will inform clients of their options legally, instruct them on how to obtain evidence, and offer alternative dispute resolution techniques.
In the legal industry, legal technology is a sought-after component that has quickly grown from a small niche to a significant player. Therefore, rather than being viewed as a competition, technology legislation should be viewed as a team sport that is encouraged by all for the benefit of all shareholders. For the benefit of clients and the further expansion of the industry, it must be supported.