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Technology is driving efficiency in the legal sector, as client expectations, structural changes and risk are changing the profession. In litigation, as firms and businesses deal with more complexity brought on by a legislative and regulatory change in increasingly multi-jurisdictional operations, lawyers must be ready on their side to deal with a rise in claims and litigation, something which technology can help them doing – notably cloud computing.
“Necessity has chased adaptation in 2020— as the legal sector compulsorily adapts AI and technology in collaborating with clients and, most importantly, make it work!” From Raka Roy, Head of IP and Data Protection, Galadari Law, Global LegalTech Summit event partners.
Cloud computing means storing and accessing data and programs over the internet instead of a computer’s hard drive. Private cloud, sometimes referred to as internal or corporate cloud, has the benefit of control and customization but remains locked only for the host company or law firm to use. In this article, we have a look at what benefits cloud computing carries for the collaboration part of litigatory work.
There are many advantages to cloud computing in terms of collaboration: security, time and cost-saving, increased efficacy and efficiency. First, by having a cloud-based portal and setting access rights, litigators are able to share sensitive documents and confidential information in a secure environment and access them from anywhere, anytime, as well as with authorized people. Cloud computing also has the advantages of robust backups and data recovery, which means that the firm doesn’t have to manage and maintain this critical function on premise and unforeseen system failure can be avoided.
Secondly, collaboration platforms give litigators tools to be more productive with their time, which can help keep cost down (especially in an Alternative Fee Arrangement situation). Sharing documents via email is time-consuming and as multiple emails are exchanged back and forth to revise documents, it is hard to track their status or check who is responsible for what. On the portal, action plans can be built for each claim with tasks defined and assigned to responsible colleagues, which clarifies everyone’s role and responsibilities. As the portal is updated in real-time it will be easier to monitor the claim status, the outstanding tasks and ensure that everything is carried out on time, by the right people.
Thirdly, collaboration improves accuracy across the team which reduces the risk of mistake being made by professionals: when work in progress is visible to all team members, errors are more easily caught and corrected. If documents and updates are siloed to email, it’s easy to see how mistakes can be made; one stakeholder is left off the distribution list, a crucial change is made offline, document versions are updated for one team member, but not everyone, and so on. On the other hand, with cloud computing, documents can be reviewed, edited, and updated in real-time, and processes can be maximized, reducing the risk of distributing information that is out of date and ensuring that all the key people have seen the work before it is sent.
Lastly, could computing, as technology in general, can empower clients to have more visibility, access and input into their matters through built-in visual dashboards, workflow tracking, and document analysis helping them understand how their matter is progressing at a glance. Allowing clients to view and participate in the process can help firms to build stronger relationships and trust with them, as well as showing prospective clients that they are committed to efficiency and transparency and that they ultimately serve their clients’ needs and deliver value to their litigation process.
Thus, implementing a cloud-based collaboration platform can help law firms improve their internal and external collaboration which in turn increases the efficacy, efficiency, and quality of their litigatory work.
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