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Is Legal Technology a good career option?

Published On : June 26, 2023

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Legaltech is transforming the legal industry and creating new opportunities and challenges for lawyers and technologists alike. In the current era, legaltech is becoming more relevant and important as it can help lawyers and clients to access, manage, and analyze legal information more efficiently and effectively. Legaltech can also enable new forms of legal service delivery, such as online dispute resolution, smart contracts, and blockchain-based transactions. Legaltech can benefit both the legal profession and the society by reducing costs, increasing access to justice, and enhancing the quality and transparency of legal processes.

What is legal technology?

Legal technology, or legal tech, is the use of software and other digital tools to provide legal services and solutions. Legal tech can help lawyers and clients with tasks such as document automation, contract review, e-discovery, online dispute resolution, and legal research.

Legal tech is a rapidly growing field that offers many opportunities for professionals who are interested in combining law and technology. According to a report by Thomson Reuters, the global legal tech market was worth $15.9 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 22% from 2020 to 2025.

Is the future of lawyers threatened by technology such as AI?

The future of lawyers is not threatened by legal technology, but rather enhanced by it. Legal technology can help lawyers automate tedious tasks, access more data and insights, and deliver better services to their clients. However, technology cannot replace the human skills and judgment that lawyers bring to the table. Lawyers will still need to be creative, ethical, and empathetic in their work. Legal technology is not a competitor, but a partner, for lawyers in the coming years.

Why you should consider Legal Tech as career?

Some of the benefits of pursuing a career in legal tech are:

- You can work on innovative projects that have a positive impact on the legal industry and society.

- You can leverage your legal skills and knowledge in a new and exciting way.

- You can learn new skills and technologies that are in high demand in the market.

- You can enjoy more flexibility and autonomy in your work environment.

However, working in legal tech also comes with some challenges, such as:

- You may need to acquire additional education or training to keep up with the changing technologies and regulations.

- You may face resistance or skepticism from traditional lawyers or clients who are not familiar with or trustful of legal tech solutions.

- You may have to deal with ethical and legal issues related to data privacy, security, and quality.

Therefore, before deciding to pursue a career in legal tech, you should consider your interests, goals, strengths, and weaknesses. You should also research the different types of legal tech roles and companies that are available and match your profile.

In this blog post, I'm trying to explore some of the most common and emerging legal tech roles and companies in the market. I will also provide some tips on how to prepare for and succeed in a legal tech career.

What are the job roles in legal technology?

Legal technology is a rapidly evolving field that offers new opportunities for professionals who can combine legal expertise with technical skills. Some of the emerging roles in legal technology include:

- Legal data analyst: A legal data analyst uses data science and analytics tools to collect, process, and visualize legal data, such as case outcomes, contracts, patents, and regulations. A legal data analyst can help lawyers and clients make informed decisions based on data-driven insights.

- Legaltech consultant: A legal engineer designs and develops software solutions that automate or streamline legal processes, such as document generation, contract management, compliance checking, and dispute resolution. A legal engineer can help lawyers and clients save time and money by reducing human errors and increasing efficiency.

- Legal innovation manager: A legal innovation manager leads and manages projects that involve the adoption or implementation of new technologies or methods in the legal sector. A legal innovation manager can help lawyers and clients stay ahead of the curve by identifying and evaluating emerging trends and best practices in legal technology.

What are the career opportunities for legal technology professionals?

As I mentioned earlier, legal technology is the use of technology to improve the delivery and efficiency of legal services. Legal technology professionals are individuals who enable firms to use technology to solve legal problems, streamline workflows, and enhance client satisfaction. Legal technology professionals may not necessarily be lawyers or have a legal background, but they have the skills and knowledge to help firms identify and implement technology solutions.

Legal technology professionals can work in various settings, such as law firms, corporate legal departments, legal service providers, or legal tech companies. Depending on their role and expertise, they may be involved in tasks such as:

- Developing, testing, and maintaining software applications for legal practice management, document automation, e-discovery, contract analysis, and more.

- Evaluating, selecting, and integrating legal technology tools and platforms for specific use cases and needs.

- Providing training and support to lawyers and staff on how to use legal technology effectively and securely.

- Analyzing data and generating insights from legal information sources, such as case law, statutes, regulations, contracts, etc.

- Researching and staying updated on the latest trends and innovations in legal technology.

The demand for legal technology professionals is expected to grow in the coming years, as more legal functions seek to automate and digitalize their processes and services. According to a Gartner survey of legal leaders in 2020, the proportion of legal budgets spent on technology is set to increase threefold by 2025. Legal technology professionals can benefit from this trend by developing their skills and competencies in areas such as:

- Programming languages and frameworks, such as Python, Java, PHP etc.

- Cloud computing and web development, such as AWS, Azure, HTML, CSS, etc.

- Artificial intelligence and machine learning, such as natural language processing, computer vision, deep learning, etc.

- Data science and analytics, such as SQL, R, Tableau, Power BI, etc.

- Cybersecurity and data privacy, such as encryption, authentication, GDPR, CCPA, etc.

- Legal knowledge and domain expertise, such as contract law, litigation support, intellectual property law, etc.

Legal technology professionals can also leverage their network and resources to find career opportunities in this field. Some of the ways to do this are:

- Joining online communities and forums for legal tech enthusiasts and practitioners, such as Lawtechnos in UAE, Legal Hackers or Legal Tech Hub

- Attending events and conferences related to legal technology , such as Smart Lawyers in UAE, Legal Geek , or ILTACON .

- Enrolling in courses and programs that offer training and certification in legal technology , such as Legal Technology Certificate Program , or Stanford CodeX .

- Following blogs and podcasts that cover news and insights on legal technology , such as Lawtechnos, Artificial Lawyer or  LawSites.

Legal technology is an exciting and dynamic field that offers many opportunities for professionals who are passionate about using technology to improve the law. If you are interested in pursuing a career in this field or advancing your existing one , you can start by exploring the resources mentioned above and learning more about the skills and tools that are relevant for your goals.

Legal technology courses are essential for preparing future lawyers and legal professionals to cope with the changing demands and expectations of clients and society. By offering more legal technology courses, educational institutions can equip their students with the skills and knowledge to leverage technology for legal research, analysis, communication, collaboration, and innovation. Legal technology courses can also foster a culture of creativity and problem-solving among legal practitioners, as well as increase access to justice and legal information for the public.

What about technology lawyers?

A technology lawyer is a legal professional who specializes in dealing with legal issues related to new and existing technologies, such as software, internet, data, VR/AR, NFTs, and digital currencies. A technology lawyer may work on various aspects of technology transactions, such as negotiating, structuring, and drafting contracts, licenses, and agreements, as well as protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights, data privacy, data security, and ecommerce matters. A technology lawyer should have specific experience and expertise for the client's technology needs and industry segment, and be able to develop a negotiation strategy that considers the client's valuable assets and expected synergies. A technology lawyer plays an important role in supporting technology companies throughout their entire corporate lifecycle, from formation to exit, and beyond.

Technology lawyers can work in law firms, corporations, government agencies, or as solo practitioners. They can also pursue careers in legal technology, where they use innovative tools and methods to enhance legal practice and service delivery.

What's there further in exciting magic box

According to a 2020 survey by Gartner, legal departments are expected to increase their spend on legal technology threefold by 2025. This indicates a growing demand for legal technology professionals, or legal technologists, who can help firms use technology to deliver legal services. Legal technologists may not have a legal background, but they have the skills and knowledge to identify and solve problems with technology. Legal technology can help improve efficiency, productivity, quality, and client satisfaction in the legal industry. Some examples of legal technology include artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, collaboration tools, document management systems, e-discovery platforms, and generative AI.

The exact number of people working on legal technology is hard to estimate, as it depends on how one defines the field and the roles involved. However, one can look at some indicators such as the number of legal technology vendors, events, publications, courses, and jobs available in the market. For instance, according to Legal IT Professionals, a website that covers legal technology news and events, there are more than 200 legal technology vendors listed in their directory. There are also numerous legal technology events happening around the world every year. Additionally, there are several publications that focus on legal technology trends and developments. There are many job opportunities for legal technology professionals in different sectors and roles, such as legal engineers, legal analysts, legal project managers, legal product managers, legal operations managers, legal innovation managers, legal data scientists, legal developers, and legal designers.

Based on these indicators, one can infer that there are thousands of people working on legal technology worldwide. However, this number is likely to increase significantly in the next few years. According to Gartner's predictions for 2021 and beyond, some of the trends that will shape the future of legal technology include:

- By 2024, 33% of corporate legal departments will have a dedicated legal technologist role.

- By 2024, 80% of corporate counsel will require law firms to describe their artificial intelligence capabilities as a condition for panel participation.

- By 2025, 75% of corporate counsel will use generative AI tools to draft contracts.

- By 2025, 50% of corporate counsel will use blockchain-based smart contracts to automate business transactions.

These trends suggest that there will be more opportunities for legal technology professionals to create value for their clients and employers by leveraging emerging technologies. Therefore, the career prospects for legal technology professionals are likely to be bright and promising in the next coming years.

Isn’t it promising?